Collide
by Muzzy-Olorea
Summary: [BB] When you cross the line there’s no going back. Where do they go from here?
1. You Make A First Impression

**Collide**

**BB When you cross the line there's no going back. Where do they go from here?**

**Chapter One: You Make A First Impression**

_**Disclaimer: I have custody of my Muse and the plot but I humbly acknowledge that I have no jurisdiction over the characters themselves.**_

**A/N:- I thought I'd do something different and set myself a challenge of a multi-chapter fic and by writing something which isn't a hundred-percent in canon. I find both things incredibly hard to write but I hope this works out as my Muse intends it.**

**I know the basic outline of the fic. There's going to be a lot of fluff mixed in with occasional angst and some action-drama in the middle.**

**'Collide' – Howie Day**

"Look, I said I'm sorry a thousand times." Booth said exasperatedly as they entered her office.

Brennan tossed her case notes on the desk. "You humiliated me Booth. In front of a dozen people." She said, shooting him a deadly glare, her hands on her hip, her posture defiant.

"What was I supposed to do Bones? I had to put you down and dismiss the authenticity of your findings to trick Edmonds into a false sense of security – which we succeeded in doing may I add." Booth explained.

"Well, you could have given me some warning beforehand!" Brennan shot.

"But then we wouldn't have got the authentic 'Bambi' look from you." Booth said, unable to contain the small smirk that he let slip. The look on her face when he had actually called the findings she had presented 'unauthentic scientific garble' had been priceless. Of course as he continued to shoot down her claims in front of everyone, her astonishment had quickly turned to hurt and he had felt unsettling guilty. True to form though that hurt soon faded into anger and Booth was glad. Angry Bones was something he could handle, he even found it strangely attractive and half of the things he said sometimes were just to bait her.

"I thought we were partners!" She huffed exasperatedly. "And I don't know what that means." She added, almost as an after thought in response to his mention of Bambi.

"It means that if I'd told you what I was going to say beforehand, you wouldn't have reacted in the same way and he would never have bought the act." Booth explained.

Brennan's eyes narrowed. "You find this amusing don't you?" She said, disgust dripping from her voice. She held his gaze challengingly. He was giving her his most irritating arrogant superior look, gloating at having managed to wind her up so much, even if it was for a case. "You gave the excuse that your little act today was for the purpose of the case but I bet you were just glad to be able to put down my work. You know we've worked together for awhile now but you still don't accept the value of what we do here and how my findings hold the key to all your cases."

She was getting more and more worked up with each word. And all Booth could do was watch how she did that adorable thing where she scrunched up her nose in irritation the angrier she got.

"If it wasn't for me Booth we never would have identified the victims in half of the cases we've worked and in the other half it would have taken your FBI Forensics department days to scrape off enough DNA and another week before the lab could get back to you with information. You know, I think it's time you stopped being so-"

Brennan never got to finish her rant because at that moment something which well and truly shut her up happened…………………

She wasn't sure whether the first thing her brain processed was the fact she had been pushed up against her bookshelf and had a very large hard-covered volume digging into her spine or the fact that someone else's hands and not her own were now resting on her hips.

Or maybe, just maybe, it was the fact that Booth was kissing her.

And not in a friendly, jokey, playful way either. It was more of a determined, one-mission, take-your-breath-away kiss. Which it did, literally.

And for the first time in her life, her brain froze and refused to start working. Just as she thought she was going to pass out, he pulled his head away but didn't step back. Instead, he just stood there, staring at her, the only thing breaking the silence was his heavy breathing.

It turned out that her brain was not the only thing that was frozen. She couldn't move a muscle in her body. She couldn't think, she couldn't process and she most certainly couldn't move or speak.

What felt like several light years had passed before she'd managed to get as far as realising that Booth's eyes had been boring into her own, waiting for a reaction.

She most probably should have run. Or slapped him. Or demand to know what he thought he was doing. Or done all three. Instead, she didn't have the physical power to implement any of these and at that very moment she did the thing which was the very very very opposite of rational. She reached up and brought his lips crashing down onto hers again.

Booth had always been a very impulsive man, guided by his emotions, seeking out to get what he wanted but the one thing he couldn't be impulsive about was Brennan. And yet after one year and several months of trying to control himself around her, he had still, in the end, failed. She was in the middle of one of her rants but he wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying. All he could think about how if he was going to give into the impulse he often got when he was around her he might as well do it when she was so mad at him since her anger couldn't possibly increase anyway. And so he had done it and she hadn't pushed him away, nor had she run when he had finally given the chance. In fact she had done the very opposite.

"Bren-nan!" Her best friend called, half way down the corridor towards her office.

Booth and Brennan sprung apart at the sound of Angela's voice and Booth had just managed to take a few steps back whilst Brennan was straightening her blouse when Angela walked in.

"Hey Booth!" Angela said cheerfully before turning to Brennan, completely unaware of what she had just interrupted. "Zach's scanned in the skull and I'm ready to do the reconstruction when you are."

Brennan nodded in reply, trying to regain her focus on the case. It seemed like Booth was having the same trouble as he was wringing his hands together nervously.

Angela glanced at both of them. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah of course." Booth said instantly and then realising he had spoken too quickly, too soon, he tried to brush it off. "You go do that Bones and I'll go check with the surveillance team and see whether Edmonds has given us anything to go on." He said keeping his voice level and much calmer than he felt.

"Okay." Brennan replied.

"Good, we'll, er, catch up later then." Booth said giving her a small, unsure smile.

Brennan met his gaze for the first time since their big loss of rationality and she felt herself grow warm with embarrassment. "Yeah, sure."

"Good. See you Angela!" Booth said throwing the artist a quick grin before heading out.

Angela watched him go before giving Brennan a puzzled look. Brennan didn't let her say anything though. "Right, let's start on the reconstruction then." She said walking out of the room and down into Angela's studio, trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened.

"We know he's male and Caucasian so I've entered those details already." Angela said as a holographic skull appeared in front of them.

Brennan took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a split second as she tried to focus. She had the important task of trying to identify the dead body in front of her and all she could think about was Booth and the kisses and what this meant for them – damn him! "Erm, lengthen the nose slightly." She said before Angela could give her another one of her suspicious looks. "Then make the eyes slightly wider." Brennan said, studying her notes.

"Like this?" Angela checked.

"Yeah, good."

"I think I'm going to give the mouth more expression. He looks like the kind of guy that would smile a lot." Angela pondered. "I wonder whether his hair was long or-"

"I kissed Booth."

Angela looked up from her sketchpad and although it was dark Brennan could tell she was giving her a look of quiet disbelief like she was sure she had heard her wrong. "What?" She said finally, sounding like she was on the verge of hearing the punch-line of a joke.

"I kissed Booth." Brennan repeated like it was obviously the only thing she could possibly have said.

"You what?" Angela said sounding rather like a child on Christmas day seeing her presents for the first time.

"Don't make me say it for a third time Ange. I already feel like a giant doofus."

Angela paused in her escalation to excitement but only for a minute. "Okay we'll get back to you saying the word 'doofus' in a minute but oh my god this is huge! I mean, this moment has obviously been inevitable but….. how, why, when??"

Angela was all but pushing her onto the comfy sofa in the corner, the half drawn man suspending in mid air forgotten. Normally Brennan would have insisted they concentrate on the case but truth was she had to get it all out of her. "Just before you came in. As to why he kissed me I would really like to know that too."

"Wait. Before, you said that you kissed him. Who did the kissing Brennan?"

Brennan frowned slightly. "Does it make much difference? Obviously there was mutual participation both times."

If Brennan thought Angela was positively shrill before, she went through the roof now. "It happened more than once?! And yes it makes ALL the difference."

Brennan shrugged. "We were arguing…"

"As usual." Angela interjected but quickly shut up when her friend shot her a look. "Sorry. Carry on."

"I was really really cross at him because he'd made me look like an idiot in front of lots of people and I think I must have been in the middle of ranting at him when all of a sudden he'd pinned me against the wall and erm, yeah. And then afterwards it was like a freak of nature and I couldn't think of anything to say or do even when I should have been even angrier at him."

"So your only recourse was to kiss him again?" Angela said, eyebrows raised.

"I never said it was the sane response."

"No sweetie, I'm proud of you!" Angela beamed. "So was it good?" She asked, her voice lowered a bit, longing for details.

Brennan smiled faintly. "Yes."

"Of course it was. It's Booth."

Normally Brennan would have said something here about how anthropologically speaking, being good-looking bears no relevance to whether he can kiss well or not but for once she really didn't have it in her to ruin the mood.

"Is it going to happen again?"

"No." Brennan said quickly and firmly, resolve setting in. "It's crazy. We work together, we're partners. It should never have even happened in the first place." Angela opened her mouth to say something but Brennan stopped her signalling the end of the dreamy high-school moment. "Drop it Ange. There's a victim that needs justice." She said, waving to the hologram.

Ten minutes later they had finished and were both heading out of the studio when Brennan ran straight into Booth and she dropped her folder on the floor.

"Oh sorry." Booth said, quickly bending down and picking it up for her. He looked at her with an unrecognisable expression on his face but then he noticed Angela staring at them, a small smile on her face. "I was just coming to see Angela for a copy of the victim's face."

"Oh, yeah, sure, we've just finished." Brennan said, feeling slightly flustered around him, her eyes darting this way and that.

"Okay." Booth said, stepping out of her way.

"Okay." Brennan said before walking away quickly and deliberately.

Booth watched her go, hoping the awkwardness between them wouldn't last. He didn't want it to be like this but then again he had expected to be able to laugh the whole thing off. That plan had well and truly fallen through with the unplanned second kiss. "What?" He asked, looking up from the sketch, feeling Angela smiling at him. "She told you. Of course she told you." He said, taking a deep breath. "It was nothing. I just lost my self control."

"Well, I wish you'd lose your self control around me some time Seeley."

Booth smiled at her joking flirtatious manner. "So what did she say?"

Angela shook her head with a laugh. "It's going to take more than your charm smile to make me break my friend's confidence Booth." She told him.

"Yeah I thought as much." Booth sighed. Guess he had to figure out where to go from here himself.

Now that Booth had a face for the victim, the speed of the case really picked up from there. After scanning the database, he managed to match the victim's face to someone in the system who, predictably, had a connection with Edmonds. That gave Booth enough to bring the suspect in for questioning. Knowing how much Brennan loved having full involvement in the case, he had run by the lab but when he couldn't find her anywhere or get hold of her by phone, he had arrested Edmonds himself and she had walked into the interrogation room halfway and hadn't looked at him once. Determined that he wouldn't let Brennan's avoidance technique get the better of him once the case was wrapped he offered her a ride.

They rode in silence which was something they never did and Brennan knew that although neither of them were talking about it, they were both thinking about what happened earlier. She glanced over at Booth but he was staring straight ahead, his eyes fixed on the road. She followed his lead and concentrated on the license plate of the car in front until she simply couldn't take being this silent anymore. "We kissed." She stated bluntly.

"I know." Booth replied, looking over at her as he waited for the traffic lights to change. "I was there." He smirked.

"It's not going to happen again."

Booth shrugged, his eyes back on the road as they started moving again. "If you say so."

There was something in his tone of voice that Brennan just managed to pick up on. "It's NOT." She insisted. The smile on Booth's face grew. Trust him to find this amusing. "It was completely unprofessional of you in the first place." She said, crossing her arms.

Booth made a noise which sounded like half a chuckle, half a splutter. "That's very hypocritical of you Bones."

"What? It came out of nowhere, you took me by surprise."

"So your defensive action was to kiss me back. That's rational Bones, very rational." Booth said sarcastically.

"Are you complaining? Because from where I stood you seemed to be enjoying yourself." Brennan shot indignantly.

Booth chuckled. Trust her to be evasive and change tactics. "The question should be why _you_ kissed _me_."

"You tell me why you kissed me first."

"Fine! I kissed you because it was the only way I could think of to stop you shouting at me!"

Brennan bit the inside of her cheek. His words stung more than she wanted to show and she turned her head away and looked out of the passenger window.

"And because I've wanted to for quite some time." Booth added quietly into the silence as he pulled up in front of Brennan's apartment.

"Well you should have not-wanted to then Booth. We work together and there's the line that you keep talking about." Brennan said, a hint of tiredness in her voice as she got out of the car and started walking up to her place.

Booth quickly locked the car and jogged to catch up with her. "Bones, just face it – you kissed me back and you just don't want to admit it because of stupid pride or something."

"Booth I'm a woman. I have impulses like anyone else. It was a one time thing."

"So it won't happen again?" Booth asked.

They were standing outside her apartment door now and he was looking at her challengingly, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

Brennan looked at him and everything that Angela said to her about him over the past year and a half came rushing at her at once. She _was_ attracted to her partner, she did love being in his company, she did get a secret thrill from their banter and even though she was as independent as hell, she wasn't always as annoyed as she seemed when he was over protective. But there were boundaries and if she wanted to keep all of the above then her lapse in judgement wasn't going to happen again. "No." She said determinedly. And it wasn't.

He was holding her gaze and she knew that the safe thing to do was to say goodbye, turn round and go inside where it would be much easier to keep her resolution than out here. Now she knew how suspects felt when Booth stared at them, willing them to back down first and at the same time making it impossible for her to do so. He took two steps forward, closing the gap between them and placed a hand on the wall behind her. Then he lowered his head so his face was so close to her skin she could feel his breath kissing her neck. He was teasing her, testing her, she knew what he was playing at and yet she didn't push him away. He moved his head slightly so he could look at her, their lips a fraction of a millimetre apart. Her breath caught in her throat as a rush of desire ran through her body.

Screw resolve. Brennan closed her eyes and brushed her lips against his. Booth didn't even have time to smile at his small victory as he kissed her back, softly at first but gradually deepening the kiss until they were kissing passionately.

If during the first kiss she had been too shocked to be aware what was happening and the second kiss had been his turn to be taken by surprise, Brennan was sure that this time they were both very very aware of what they were doing. She wanted him and now was the only time she wasn't afraid of showing it. Her arms went around his neck, her hands tangled up in his hair, holding him against her. Their kisses were getting more and more heated with each passing second. Booth's fingers were softly stroking the skin above her hip where her blouse had hitched up and he was sending shivers through her body.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked breathless.

Booth kissed her again before moving his mouth away slightly. "I really shouldn't." He replied, his lips moving from her mouth, planting kisses all the way down her neck until he found a patch of soft skin near her collarbone and he sucked on it gently.

Brennan tipped her head back and rested it on the wall, eyes closed, her mouth parted slightly. There was no going back, rationality flew out the window. She reached behind her, just managing to twist the doorknob and they stumbled into her apartment, their bodies glued together.

**A/N:- Three kisses in one chapter? What has come over me eh? I love reading all your reviews so feedback is greatly appreciated. **


	2. And I'm Tangled Up In You

**Chapter Two: And I'm Tangled Up In You**

_**Disclaimer: I have custody of my Muse and the plot but I humbly acknowledge that I have no jurisdiction over the characters themselves.**_

**A/N:- My Valentine's Day gift to all those out there who are doing the sensible thing and staying in and reading fic on this over-hyped day. To all those who gave me feedback on the first chapter, I love you all very much and you can all be my Valentine any day!**

**'Collide' – Howie Day**

Brennan's day usually started with her awakening to the noise of a deafening alarm clock and having to drag herself across the other side of the room to shut it off but today was different. The first thing she felt was an arm around her waist and a hand resting idly on her stomach and her whole body was very warm despite the fact that the duvet lay in a heap on the floor. Then she remembered someone spooning her for most of the night. And that someone was Booth. Because they'd slept together. She felt a surge of panic grip her body and her eyes shot open, her brain racing through plans as to what to do next but none of them seemed particularly feasible so she did nothing and just lay there and even allowed herself to fleetingly think that she was actually remarkably comfortable like this.

Booth felt her stir slightly in his arms and he opened his eyes and stared at the back of her head. He had been awake for some time and had used the time to consider the many possibilities that last night meant for them. Most of the scenarios had unsatisfactory endings so he had pushed them from his mind and had just lain there, trying to engrain this moment in his mind from the smell of her hair to the warmth of her body up against his.

He knew she was awake. He heard her breathing change and her body tense as the memory of last night hit her and yet she still hadn't moved, she hadn't ran like he had expected her to. Booth sat up slightly, his weight on his right shoulder. "Temperance?" He said softly.

Brennan felt her whole body tingle. She could count on one hand the number of times that Booth called her by her first name and at least a couple of times had been last night. She rolled over to face him and he withdrew his arm that had been holding her for most of the night. He was looking at her like he was seeing her for the first time and it made her feel unnaturally self-conscious. So this was what the morning-after felt like.

He didn't even get to say 'morning' before the ringing of his phone interrupted the moment. He sighed and after quickly pulling on his boxers, he fumbled around on the floor for his phone, finally finding it under her bedside table. "Booth." He answered, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise how late it was. Yeah, yeah, I'll be right there. Okay, okay." He said before ending the call. "We've got a new case. A body found in a metal container just outside DC. The victim's possibly the missing sister of a senator which is why we're involved. They've shipped the body over to the Jeffersonian but I've got to head over to the Bureau to get the case file." He told Brennan. She nodded and sat up, pulling the sheet up to her chest. Booth looked at her awkwardly. They needed to talk but right now they also had to do their jobs. "Could I use the-?" he asked, pointing to the shower room.

"Sure, of course." Brennan said then she watched as he gathered his clothes from the floor and headed into the bathroom. It was only after the door was shut and she heard the shower going that she groaned and sank back down in her bed. She was known for making a lot of wrong decisions when it came to men but sleeping with Booth had to be the worst one yet.

Booth walked out of the bathroom half-dressed and he was still busy doing up his shirt buttons and fastening the notch on his belt buckle as he walked into the kitchen. Brennan was standing by the coffee pot all dressed and ready for a day's work.

"My clothes don't look too crumpled do they?" He asked, pulling on his suit jacket and coming up to her.

Brennan turned round to look at him. "You have a shirt button missing." She said, pointing to a hole in his shirt. Then she felt herself blush slightly as she remembered how it came to be ripped off and she gave a nervous laugh and turned back to the coffee, pouring some into a cup. "For the road." She said, handing it to Booth.

"Styrofoam cups. Nice." Booth said, examining the disposable cup.

"I keep it for mornings like this." Brennan explained. Booth raised his eyebrows. "Not mornings like _this. _I mean….. I mean mornings where I'm running late and …." She trailed off. "Right." She said, avoiding eye contact with Booth and pouring herself some coffee.

Booth didn't get to see Brennan embarrassed very often but it was very endearing and he smiled at her softly. "I've got to go before Cullen fires me. I'll see you at the lab." He said, then he leant over and kissed her on the cheek. "We'll talk later."

Brennan touched her cheek where Booth had kissed her and smiled faintly.

……………..

The whole team were gathered round what she guessed was the victim's body. The top of the metal container had been taken away but they hadn't removed the body yet.

"You're late." Hodgins said spotting her as she swiped in.

"You're never late." Zach added, disapproval evident in his voice.

Brennan tied her hair back in a ponytail and hastily pulled on a lab coat. "I know, I'm sorry. I overslept." She said, giving the corpse a cursory examination. "Pass me the photos taken at the scene Zach." She asked but when her assistant didn't move, she was forced to look up from the body. "What?"

"You're smiling." Zach stated, a frown on his face.

"No I'm not." She said quickly, retrieving the photos herself.

"I think someone got lucky last night." Hodgins said, a grin on his face.

"Oh please this is Brennan we're talking about." Angela said, catching the tail end of the conversation as she joined them. Then she seemed to pause in that thought and her eyes widened slightly as she put two and two together.

Brennan glanced at her and could tell what her friend was thinking. She pushed past her, walking down from the platform.

"Zach you can start removing the body carefully." She called over her shoulder as she headed towards her office, her friend hot on her heels.

"Oh my god you slept with Booth!" Angela exclaimed once they'd reached their destination.

"What?"

"You're smiling and you're late. It's rare for you to be doing either one but together? It's not a coincidence." Angela explained, a little impatience in her voice like she was a teacher explaining the simplest thing to an ignorant student.

"Oh please even if I did hypothetically speaking sleep with Booth it doesn't necessary mean that that's why I'm smiling." Brennan said, rifling through folders on her desk, refusing to look at her friend.

Angela reached over and pulled the folder from Brennan in annoyance. "Did you have sex with Booth?" She demanded.

Brennan sighed and glanced towards the door like she was scared someone was eavesdropping. "Twice." She admitted before moving to the other side of the room to her bookshelf.

"Oh my god. What happened to 'it's crazy, we work together'?"

"Yeah, that didn't exactly work out."

"Was he good?" Angela asked enviously.

"It's Booth." Brennan said simply, using Angela's reasoning from yesterday. "Ange, please don't tell anyone." She said, interrupting her friend's squealing. "And don't mention it to Booth."

"You guys haven't talked?"

"We haven't exactly had time." Brennan sighed, flopping down in her chair and switching on her computer.

"Well, how do you feel about it?" Angela questioned, sitting on the edge of Brennan's desk.

Brennan shrugged. "It doesn't matter how I feel. What's important is that it can't happen again. You can't have any sort of relationship, even just a sexual one, with someone you work with and hope to keep your objectivity."

"Hodgins and I are dating and it's not affecting our work."

"That's different." Brennan sighed and then yawned.

"Tired already?" Angela smirked.

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Don't start."

There was a tap on the door again and Booth walked in, studying a case-file. Brennan watched Angela physically bite her lip in an attempt to stop herself from saying anything.

"I've got the eyewitness account from the ranger who found the container." He announced, looking up, careful not to look at Brennan for more than a fraction of a second.

"Oh good, what does it say?" Brennan asked, standing up and walking over to Booth so she could read the file with him.

Angela smirked. "I'll leave you two to your work." She said, giving Brennan a sly wink on the way out.

Thankfully Booth seemed too absorbed in the notes to notice. "Ranger says that he got a call from some hikers in the middle of the woods who found it. Apparently it's been hidden there for several years and wasn't discovered sooner as no one usually goes out there."

Brennan scanned the page. "So basically we've not got a lot to go on."

"Nope." Booth said, shutting the file and looking at her. "I need to go track down Senator Gordon and see if I can get anything new out of him after eight years. When do you think you can finish examining the body?"

Brennan glanced at the clock. "Lunch time?"

Booth nodded and dropped his gaze to her lips. Last night had been amazing and being alone with her now was incredibly distracting. "Meet you at one in the diner?"

"Sure." She became suddenly so aware of the attraction between them and she felt herself blush slightly and she looked away. "I better get started then." She said, pointing to the door.

"Okay." Booth said, a small smile on his face as he took a step forward.

Brennan took a step back and laughed lightly. "Go. We've got work to do." She instructed and as if on cue Booth's cell phone started ringing.

"Booth." He said, flipping it open. "Uhuh, okay, okay." He said, heading towards the door, twisting his head and giving Brennan a smirk over his shoulder before leaving. He now had a legitimate reason to openly flirt with her and he was enjoying every minute of it.

…………..

The two hours between the time Booth left her office and the time she was meant to meet him at the diner passed incredibly quickly. Zach had cleaned the bones and had laid them out on the examination table for her. After that it didn't take her long to establish that the corpse was around the same age as Janice Gordon and had several healed fractures consistent with those described in her medical reports.

She had only been sitting at their usual table in the diner for a few minutes when Booth whirled in, signalling to the waiter as he sat down. "So what have you got Bones?"

"Going by the number of times she's been admitted to hospital and the severe damage done to her ribs, her back and her legs, Janice was probably a victim of domestic abuse so it's very likely that her long-term boyfriend killed her as well and hid the body in the forest."

Booth nodded as the waiter brought over his usual: cup of black coffee and a plate of fries. "What the Senator told me basically led me to conclude the same thing. Damian Scarper's been a suspect from the beginning and never had a solid alibi for the night of Janice's disappearance."

"Why's he still walking around free then?"

Booth shrugged, sipping his coffee. "What with the lack of body, there's never been enough evidence to convict him until now. I've got surveillance outside his house waiting to pick him up."

"Good." Brennan responded and then dropped her gaze down into her plate of half-eaten salad. There was nothing left to say about the case and she wondered when Booth intended on having the 'talk' he had mentioned on his way out of her apartment earlier. "Booth, yesterday can't happen again." She stated, meeting his gaze seriously.

"Which part of yesterday?" Booth asked, giving her an amused glance as he popped a fry into her mouth.

"All of it. It should never have happened at all."

"You saying we should never have arrested Edmonds? I thought you were all for catching the bad guy …." He smirked.

"You know what I mean Booth. We crossed the line and let our base physical animal needs overcome our sense of rationality and it was wrong. We need to just forget about it and move on. Maybe it will even be better for our partnership now we've got that inevitability out of our systems and we can go back to just seeing each other as friendly co-workers and nothing more ……" Brennan trailed off. Booth was staring at her – no, more like staring _through_ her with a small smile on his face. "Booth, are you even listening to me?!"

Booth stirred. "Sorry, what?"

"Did you hear what I said?" She asked, irritation lacing her voice.

"No, sorry I was distracted."

"By what?" Brennan asked, looking over her shoulder but there was nothing unusual happening there.

He was grinning now but he couldn't help it. "You don't want to know."

"Oh trust me I do! I want to know what's more important than establishing the professional grounds of our interaction and …."

"I was picturing you naked." He said off-handedly like it was no big deal. Brennan's mouth opened and then closed. Satisfied with his victory, Booth wiped his hands on a napkin and then walked over to the counter to get a refill for his coffee.

Brennan sat back in her chair, irritated with herself. She was usually so good with words and quick responses but two days in a row now Booth had managed to say or do something that was so unexpected it left her speechless.

He returned with his drink and she immediately rounded on him. "You can't say things like that, it's not professional. You need to be serious. We need to go back to the way things were before…." Booth's phone started ringing and he picked it up but she was on a roll now. "You can't sit there objectifying me like you do with other women just because we slept together once……." Booth put his hand up and shot her a look to shut her up. She was annoyed at him but she could tell from the look on his face that it was about the case and she reluctantly slipped back into work-mode.

"Okay we need to go." Booth said, dropping his phone back into his pocket and standing up. "The Agents have picked Scarper up and they're bringing him in for questioning now." He said tucking some notes under his plate.

Brennan got up to follow him and they were nearly out of the door when he turned around, a cheeky grin on his face. "It wasn't once." He said.

"What?" Brennan asked, confused, her mind racing through the facts of the case.

"You said we slept together once. It wasn't once." He explained. Brennan didn't even have a chance to say anything before he was gone.

……………………………………….

"_You like hitting women Scarper? Did beating Janice until she couldn't move make you feel strong and powerful? You're a sick, twisted, son-of-a-bitch." _

Booth had rested a hand on her back gently and had taken over and she had to sit there and endure Scarper leering at her for the rest of the interrogation. The bastard still denied everything even when she had shown him that his knuckle imprint on the bone which proved that he had delivered the fatal blow. Booth had said that the DA wouldn't have a hard time prosecuting him especially with the victim being a member of the Senator's family but it still didn't change the fact that Janice Gordon had been an innocent victim who had died unnecessarily. Brennan sighed as she stood in the lab, surrounded by bones of hundreds of unidentified innocent victims.

Booth walked in his suit jacket folded over his arm, his face covered with a shadow of frustration.

"Scarper still not confess?" Brennan asked.

Booth shook his head and loosened his tie tiredly. "This her?" He asked, looking down at the table of bones.

"Yeah, I'm just packing her bones away into the box so her family can get on with the preparations for her burial." Brennan sighed. She seldom got a lot of satisfaction from solving a case especially when the victim had been so young.

Booth walked round the table and rested his hands on her shoulders supportively before moving them down her back until they came to rest on her hips. "I'll be at my apartment when you're done." He whispered into her ear before placing a soft kiss at the base of her neck.

Brennan turned round to face him which was the wrong move since he was now pinning her against the table. "It's not happening again Booth." She told him exasperatedly, this time her rationality managing to get one up on her impulses.

Booth shrugged, letting her go and started walking away, his jacket swung over his shoulder like what she had said simply didn't bother him. "That's what you said yesterday." He replied just as he was nearly out of the door.

……………….

Booth arrived back at his apartment and headed into the shower. Yesterday had been very …… unexpected and he hadn't had time to process it all until now. Was it really that surprising that one kiss had spiralled into a whole lot more? Not really but Brennan's lack of self restraint had certainly caught him off guard and although he knew that she felt the attraction between them as well, he was surprised that she so obviously wanted him as much as he wanted her.

He let the water run cold for a few minutes before climbing out and drying himself with a towel. Having put on some clean clothes, he was just heading into the kitchen when there was a knock on the door.

Booth opened it and a grin grew on his face when he saw who it was. "This a booty call?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Brennan laughed nervously. What was she even doing here? Last night she could put down to being caught in the moment but tonight she had gone out of her way to come to his apartment after she had spent the whole day convincing herself that they couldn't do this. "I-" She started. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here." She said, turning resolutely to go. She had barely taken two steps when Booth grabbed her hand and pulled her round to face him. She looked at him unsurely as he reached over and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear and she felt butterflies in her stomach start to flutter.

If their kiss this time last night was hasty and passionate, this one was slow and tender and yet in a way it affected her even more. Booth pulled away and rested his forehead against hers, his hands still cupping her face. "Do you want to come in?"

She kissed him softly before replying. "I really shouldn't." She smiled.

**Q&A:**

** Is this a one-shot?**

No, evidently. Though it would have been very like me to leave the story with the ending of the first chapter, I'm trying something different and exploring the BoothBrennan love further.

**A/N:- Hope that the fluff is enough to get you through today! I would share Booth with you all but I need him here with me to get my Muse to write. Hehe. Anyway, I'll take reviews over roses any day!**


	3. The Dawn Is Breaking

**Chapter Three: The Dawn Is Breaking**

_**Disclaimer: I have custody of my Muse and the plot but I humbly acknowledge that I have no jurisdiction over the characters themselves.**_

**A/N:- It upsets me when people add me to their story alert list without leaving reviews. Yes I have been watching and yes it may sound petty but it's the small things in life that count. Anyway, my Muse is back rock'n'rollin' again so here's another chapter!**

**'Collide' – Howie Day**

Brennan opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. He wasn't there next to her right now but she was surrounded by him. The pillows smelt of him, the bed sheets smelt of him, the room was all him. Him and his soft, enticing cologne and welcoming scent. She sighed and rolled over to her side and looked round the room. Whilst her apartment was heavily decorated with dark reds and wooden furnishings, Booth's was typically masculine with whites and stainless steel everywhere apart from the bed and the TV cabinet. It was very him.

She rolled back over onto her back and pulled the covers over her head in a feeble attempt to forget where she was. How did she and Booth go from co-workers to having sleepovers within a space of forty-eight hours? Her mind drifted back to last night and how she had found herself tangled up with her partner again. He was like a drug and pure need drove her on whenever she was around him and all the nerves to her brain allowing her to think clearly were blocked. And he knew her, really knew her and now he knew her in the in-bed kind of way too …… like where to touch in order to drive her wild. She hated and loved their compatibility at the same time.

She could hear some movement in the kitchen and she knew that trying to slip out of the apartment without an FBI Agent and former sniper hearing her was ludicrous. Plus there was the small problem of not knowing where the hell her clothes were.

"Morning." Booth said, a huge grin on his face as he saw the Bones-shaped lump underneath the covers. Truth be told, he had been scared that he would wake up this morning to see her gone in typical Bones-fashion where she would try to deny last night really happened but she had been fast asleep and hadn't even woken when he had moved away to get up.

Brennan looked up. Booth entered the room balancing two trays holding some delicious smelling food. He was wearing a T-shirt and boxers and she felt decidedly underdressed beneath the sheets.

"Breakfast." He announced. She sat up slightly pulling the blanket up to her chin as Booth handed her a tray with a bowl of cereal, a mug of coffee and then a plate piled high with pancakes and waffles.

"Oh wow." She said. "You do this for all the girls you sleep with?"

"Only those I'm trying to impress." Booth said, giving her a flirtatious grin before settling down next to her and nudging her playfully as he sipped his coffee. She smiled and turned her attention to her food. This was meant to be awkward, why didn't it feel awkward?

"Let's see what's going on in the world." Booth said, reaching for the remote and turning on the TV.

Brennan tasted the pancakes. They were amongst her favourite food but she seldom had time to make them. "Wow this is a really good, a real luxury."

Booth looked away from the television. "Watching CNN is a luxury? You really need to get a TV Bones."

"No I was talking about the breakfast." Brennan clarified but when she saw the smile grow on Booth's face she felt slightly stupid. "But you knew that already." She said slowly. Booth laughed. "I never knew you could cook." She commented, hoping that by focussing on the food they could kind of ignore the fact that she was in his bed naked on a Saturday morning.

"There's a lot of things you never knew I could do." He smirked.

Brennan felt herself blush slightly. It was far too early for her brain to come up with appropriate comebacks to Booth's flirting. She stared ahead at the screen watching a journalist interview a soldier in Iraq which would normally have caused her to start an argument with Booth about how the whole war in the Middle East was the result of political power-play by ministers in the West but she couldn't concentrate on it today. After they had finished eating, Booth moved the trays off the bed and she turned to him seriously.

"Is what keeps happening going to keep happening?" She asked, being deliberately vague about their encounters.

"You mean the wild and passionate sex that happened in more than one room of this apartment last night?" Booth said, looking at her amused. He knew that Brennan was anything but a prude and yet she certainly hated being explicit when it came to talking about them.

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Yes, that."

Booth shrugged. "Well, you obviously can't keep your hands off of me so ….."

"You are so up yourself!" Brennan exclaimed reaching out and hitting him.

"Hey!" Booth moaned, retaliating by rolling over and tickling her. She squirmed and giggled and tried to stop him moving the covers off of her but he was too strong and soon the tickling fight turned into something more and Brennan knew she had to lay down the law once and for all.

"There's got to be rules." She said.

"Rules?" Booth questioned, nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck.

"Yes. This has got to be just about sex, nothing more." She stated, watching his face carefully for any reaction. He hadn't got round to shaving for the past couple of days and he had that whole sexy stubble thing going on which distracted her for several moments whilst Booth processed what she had just said.

Booth rested his elbows either side of her head so whilst their bodies were touching, he wasn't crushing her and he looked at her slightly bemused.

"It's got to be purely physical. It can't get emotional, there's got to be no dating, no strings, no relationship." Brennan continued. It was the only solution to their situation that she could see. "I know you like to be traditional about these things so if you're not comfortable with this then we should go back to how things were before Thursday."

Booth looked down at her. He should have seen this coming. It was the typical Brennan-reaction kicking in to protect herself, keep some sort of defence around her even when he thought he had broken down the last barrier. "What are you afraid of?" He asked quietly.

Brennan turned her head to the side and swallowed before deciding to ignore his question. "It's got to be one way or the other Booth. Nothing in between."

Booth sighed. She had backed him into a corner knowing that there really was only one outcome of this.

Just then the buzzer on the front door rang and Booth groaned as he climbed off of her. "I'll be right back." He said, grabbing a pair of trousers as he quickly exited the bedroom.

"Rebecca, hi!" Booth said, slightly surprised to see his ex there.

"Daddy!" Parker cried happily.

"Hey there buddy." Booth said, picking him up for a quick hug before his son wiggled out of his grasp and ran inside.

"It wasn't my weekend was it?" Booth questioned, scratching his head. No matter how much he had going on, he never confused the weekends he was meant to be spending with Parker.

Rebecca stepped inside and looked at him apologetically. "No but I was wondering if you could take him anyway? Long story short my boss was meant to give a talk in New York at a special seminar and he's been struck down with laryngitis and asked me to do it and-"

"It's fine. I'm always glad to have Parker stay." Booth said, watching as their son headed straight to his toy box and emptied its contents.

"Thanks." Rebecca smiled gratefully. "Here's his stuff." She said, putting down a bag. "You've got someone here?" She asked curiously, spotting the trail of clothes.

"Oh yeah, it's Bones." Booth said slightly embarrassed, hastily sweeping the clothes into his arms.

"I didn't know you two were dating." Rebecca said, interestedly. She was glad that she and Seeley had got to the stage where they no longer got jealous of each other's partners and the two of them had regained that friendly relationship they had long before they ever dated.

"We're not." Booth said bluntly. "We're just ….."

"Oh and you're okay with that?" Rebecca asked, knowing how Booth always liked to do things right and in line with all his values.

"No but with Bones I'm willing to take what I'm given." He sighed.

Rebecca reached over and gave him a hug. "I'm happy if you're happy." She said giving him a sympathetic smile. Booth grunted in response.

"Right, I've really got to go." She said, going over to say goodbye to Parker. She was just about to open the door when she turned to Booth. "Seeley, I know it's not of my business but just so you know…… If I had to choose another woman for Parker to be around then it would be Dr Brennan."

Booth nodded. Rebecca's words did mean a lot to him but given the conversation he just had with her, he didn't know how Brennan was going to take being around Parker for any extended amount of time.

After Rebecca left, Booth made sure Parker was settled before heading back into the bedroom. She stopped channel-hopping and looked at him as he came in.

"I'm sorry but something came up and Rebecca has to go away this weekend so she just dropped Parker round." Booth told her.

Brennan nodded in understanding. "I guess I better put on some clothes then!" She laughed mildly, wrapping herself in the bed sheet before going over to where Booth had just put down her clothes.

Booth left her to get changed and he headed back into the dining room to get Parker a drink and some cookies. When she came out she was all dressed with her bag on her shoulder, her car keys dangling from her finger.

"Dr Brennan!" Parker called happily and he dropped the colouring pencil he was clutching and ran towards her hugging her legs tightly.

Brennan looked slightly lost before something Angela had said to her once about how kids liked you being down at their level popped into her head and she crouched down on the floor. "Hello Parker!" She said with a smile.

"You going somewhere?" Booth asked, looking at her keys and bag.

"Yeah, I've got to get to the lab. There's some bones from the civil war era that Goodman wants me to reassemble before next week and I've left it rather late as it is ……." She said quickly. Booth rolled his eyes at her but before he could make some sarcastic comment, his son got in there first.

"You're not coming to the zoo?" Parker said, his cheery smile faded. He showed her the toy lion he held in his hand.

"That's nice. No, but you'll have fun without me though." Brennan said gently, standing back up but Parker tugged on her sleeve insistently.

"But Daddy and I want you to come." Parker said, his eyes wide, perfecting the perfect pout.

Brennan glanced at Booth. "You two should enjoy your time together. I don't want to get in the way …"

"Don't be ridiculous Bones. We WANT you to come to the zoo with us." Booth said before mimicking the pleading look on his son's face causing her to laugh. "Come on, the dead people can wait one more day."

………………..

Brennan wondered how one minute she had been categorically stating that their relationship was going to be just about sex and then the next she was sitting in the backseat of Booth's SUV about to spend the day at the zoo with him and his son.

"Dr Brennan what's your real name?" Parker asked, turning to her suddenly. "Daddy calls you 'Bones' but he says that's not your real name."

"Most people apart from your Dad call me by my last name 'Brennan'." Brennan told the little boy. "But my first name is Temperance."

"Tempance." Parker said, attempting to say it.

Booth chuckled from the driver's seat and glanced at them through his rear-view mirror. Brennan glared back at him. "But you can call me Tempe if you want. It's shorter and easier to say."

"Tempe." Parker repeated. Then he picked up an action figure and handed it to her. "Play with me Tempe." He said.

Brennan stared at the lump of plastic in her hand. By the blob of yellow on its head and the grey thing in its hand, she guessed that it was meant to represent a cowboy but it was all anatomically incorrect. She looked at the toy in Parker's hand and the skin colour of the 'Indian' made her cringe.

"Play with you?" She questioned.

"Yeah you know like …." Parker moved his arms in the air and bumping his character into the one which she held, making noises which resembled gunshots. Brennan wanted to tell him that she was the one with the cowboy and the gun but she managed to hold back just this once.

"Oh. Okay." Brennan said, following his lead and randomly moving the toy in the air. She wasn't sure what she was doing but apparently she was doing something right as Parker was smiling happily making all kind of warfare noises.

As they pulled up at some lights, Booth looked at them in the reflection of the mirror. He really wished he could get some video footage of Brennan waving her arms about madly. She looked so awkward and yet … free at the same time plus seeing her interact with her son like that made him inwardly over the moon. "Come on, out of the car children." He grinned as he pulled into an empty parking space at the zoo car park.

At the gate Brennan tried paying her own way but Booth got in there first and then Parker had distracted her by reeling off the list of animals he wanted to see that she didn't have a chance to argue with him. It was odd because she was never at ease with children but Parker had taken such an instant inexplicable liking to her that not even she could explain it in anthropological terms.

"I wanna see the lions first." Parker said, tugging on Booth's hand and then grabbing Brennan's with his other and dragging them off in one direction.

Booth grinned at his partner as the little boy took them from the lions onto the monkeys and then to see basically every living creature in the whole zoo. Brennan didn't particularly find the caged animals fascinating from an anthropological point of view but Parker seemed to be having fun and that gave her an oddly satisfying feeling.

Booth didn't really get a chance to speak to her for most of the afternoon as Parker kept them distracted, dragging them off in another direction almost as soon as Booth managed to slip an arm around Brennan. It was the early evening when Parker's energy finally showed signs of fading and the three of them headed into the café to have a very late lunch/early dinner.

"So, what was your favourite animal bud?" Booth asked his son as he munched on some fries.

"All of 'em." Parker replied with a toothy grin.

Brennan smiled. She saw a lot of Booth in Parker – the cheery personality, the twinkle in the eye, the smile ………

"What was your favourite animal Tempe?" The little boy asked, his attention fixed on her.

"Well the zoo is probably the worst place to judge an animal as they don't act the same as they would do in their natural environment. I mean anthropologically speaking when you stick a group of humans in unnatural surroundings you don't expect to ….." She trailed off noticing the two guys staring at her. "Erm, the rhinoceros." She answered simply.

"Is that because he was horn-y?"

Brennan half-glared, half-gaped at Booth, shocked that he would make those sort of innuendos in front of his innocent son but he just looked back at her without flinching or smirking one bit. The double entendre was of course lost on Parker who proceeded to hold his knife and fork to his head in what looked like a cross between a stag and a unicorn.

Booth took a carefully detailed mental image of the look on Brennan's face as he made his off-handed remark. It was very hard to shock his partner so he treasured those few times he actually made her speechless.

After they had finished with their food, they headed on home - the drive being much like the one on the way there only this time Brennan didn't need any instructions on how to work her cowboy.

Back at his apartment, Booth left Parker with Brennan whilst he went into his son's room to make up his bed.

Brennan threw herself down on the sofa with a yawn. She never realised just how tiring it was trying to keep up with the energy of a five year-old and she was totally drained ... though that could also be due to the physical exertions of last night. Parker seemed to be winding down too. He flopped down next to her, holding a book, his thumb in his mouth, looking up at her expectantly. It took Brennan a second to realise what he wanted and she gently took the book from him. 'Animal Adventures' nice to see he was keeping with the theme of the day ... As she opened the book, Parker cuddled up to her and she instinctively tensed and felt awkward. Was it such a bad thing that Booth's son seemed to have taken an instant liking to her? It did make her feel strangely ... warm and good and the three of them were comfortable with each other in a way she hadn't felt for a long long time... Maybe that was where the danger lay.

Brennan had only gotten two pages into the book with more pictures than her anatomy textbook when Parker had fallen asleep, his eyes squeezed closed tightly, his head on her lap. She looked down at him, pulling his jumper down to cover his back. Then she rested her head on the back of the sofa and closed her eyes too.

Booth stood watching them from the doorway, a large smile on his face. Today had been near-on perfect and he was sure that Brennan had been surprised at how much she enjoyed it herself. "Hey." He said softly, walking up to them.

"Hey." Brennan replied, opening her eyes and giving him a tired smile. They held each other's gaze for awhile before Booth gently picked Parker up, taking him to get changed and then to bed.

When he returned, Brennan was standing, her coat slung over her arm. "I've got to go."

Booth walked up to her. "Why don't you stay over?"

She shook her head. "Tomorrow I'm spending all day at the lab. I've got a whole pile of bones piling up."

She had that look on her face and Booth knew there was no way he was going to be able to convince her otherwise. "Sure?"

Brennan nodded. "Today was nice ...but you know what I said earlier?"

Booth shrugged. "You said many things."

She looked at him closely. He was FBI through and through so she couldn't tell if he was being deliberately evasive or not. "About this thing with us just being physical not emotional? It still stands."

Booth didn't say anything. He hadn't really expected today to change Brennan's mind but it still didn't stop him feeling disappointed every time she said it. "Okay."

"Okay." There was a pause as she reached for her bag. "I'll see you later."

Then she did something so instinctive it shocked both of them. She reached up and kissed Booth on the lips, just long enough for him to react and want to pull her towards him. She broke away and gave him a nervous glance before heading out the door. Talk about breaking all of your own rules.

**A/N:- Hopefully there won't be such a long wait for the next chapter!**


	4. You’re Barely Waking

**Chapter Four: You're Barely Waking**

_**Disclaimer: I have custody of my Muse and the plot but I humbly acknowledge that I have no jurisdiction over the characters themselves.**_

**A/N:- Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! I appreciate you all.**

**'Collide' – Howie Day**

Brennan stared dully in front of her. At one end of the coffee table was an A4 sized photo of a young lady and at the other was her possible skull shattered into a hundred pieces. Talk about depressing.

A shattered skull that needed reassembling was not usually a problem but Brennan had spent the whole day analysing the rest of Jane Manning's bones, which was sobering enough given her age, and was just about to call it a day when local PD had brought in what they thought was her skull wrapped up in pieces in a box. And now here she sat faced with at least 6 hours of work in front of her.

She rubbed her face in her hands, mentally preparing herself to get started. She couldn't help but wish this was a federal matter as she secretly missed working with Booth and having his support - though she would never tell him that. As Fate would have it since they'd started sleeping together, they'd barely seen each other, involved with different cases, different jobs, different crimes. He phoned her though, usually as she was going through a lab result with Hodgins or demonstrating a procedure to Zach which made his sexual suggestions sound even more inappropriate than they would have been already... and yet she had _that_ feeling when his name came up on caller ID ….. she was happy.

"Hey."

Brennan looked up to see the man himself, leaning against the door frame, staring at her, a small smile on his face.

"I really can't tonight Booth." She said tiredly.

Booth looked a little hurt. "What makes you think I came round just for sex?!"

Brennan looked away feeling slightly guilty and slouched down in her seat. The room was only lit by a small lamp on the coffee table and as Booth stood over her, his shadow loomed over the whole room.

"I've missed you." He said, his hands moving over her shoulders, working out the knots.

Brennan knew she shouldn't but she allowed herself to lean back and close her eyes, momentarily enjoying the human contact.

"Tough case?"

"I've got to reassemble that skull." Brennan said robotically.

Booth glanced at the tray piled high with fragments of bone. "I'll go bring us back some Wong Foos." He said, heading towards the door.

"Booth you don't have to." Brennan called after him, causing him to stop by the door. "You should go home. You've had a long day."

Booth shrugged. "I want to keep you company." He said simply and Brennan refused to read too much into it.

She had just started sorting the pieces when Booth came back, bringing the smell of Chinese food with him all the way down the corridor. Whilst they ate, Booth chattered happily about the latest goings-on at the FBI Office and whilst Brennan appreciated the distraction, it wasn't enough to shake the image of the young girl happily riding along on her bicycle one minute, dead the next, from her mind.

"Bones, what's the matter?" Booth asked, scooting over next to her and taking the half-empty carton from her hands.

She hadn't fully realised she was crying until Booth came to her with that concerned, shocked look on his face. She shook her head slightly. "It's just this skull, this girl... she was so young, training to be a doctor ..." Her voice caught in her throat. "It's not fair, it's just not fair..."

Booth felt his heart tear ever so slightly in his chest. Brennan hardly ever let herself breakdown like this so when she did, he was often at a loss as to what to do. He pulled her towards him and though she resisted at first, she relaxed as he smoothed her back.

It didn't take her long to regain control of herself and let her wayward emotions be overridden with embarrassment. She never broke down. Temperance Brennan did not break down. What was wrong with her? She wiped at her eyes furiously. "Sorry. Just tired." She said, moving away to the other side of the coffee table.

Booth wanted to say something but he knew exactly what Brennan would say so instead he dropped it and moved on. "Is there anything I can help with?"

"It's bones." Brennan said, raising his eyebrows. "You don't _do_ bones remember?"

Booth smiled. "No but I do do glue. I could put glue on the pieces and hand them to you."

She looked like she was going to refuse, scared that what with the dinner followed by the skull reconstructing, this was shaping up to be Brennan's ideal date... She looked away unsurely but when she looked back Booth was still staring at her solidly, unwaveringly. "Okay." She said finally. "But really you should go home, I can do it by myself ..."

"Shhh Bones."

And that was that. Brennan was too exhausted to argue and though she hated it, pushing Booth away was going to be too energy-consuming. They worked in silence, settling into an easy rhythm whereby Brennan would hand Booth a piece of skull, he would apply the glue and then hand the piece back to Brennan who would fix it in place. They worked for what must have been hours like this but when they started getting to the minute detail, Brennan insisted on doing it all herself and absorbed herself in making sure even the tiniest piece got slotted into the right place.

Whilst she worked on that, Booth read through the copy of the casefile that the Detective had given her. He could see why this case shook Brennan up so much: the victim was in her early thirties who grew up in a dozen different foster homes but was now in her final year of medical training. She appeared not to have a lot of friends but at the same time no significant enemies who stood out as the kind who would want to run her down and crush her body with a steamroller. The pictures of the crime scene made even Booth cringe. They were almost certain to make a positive ID now that they had her skull but it still looked like the detectives had no leads whatsoever. Booth itched to work this case but he had no jurisdiction and the local PD weren't exactly friendly with the FBI at the best of times and he was sure they wouldn't appreciated him pushing his nose in where it didn't belong. He pushed the papers back into the file and turned to see how his partner was doing when he found her slumped in her chair asleep, the nearly finished skull in front of her.

Booth watched her for a minute. It had always been dangerous territory with her right from when they first met but now they were together but not-together everything was ten times worse. He ached to be able to do the normal romantic things he usually did for the girls he felt this way about - or at least be allowed to show at least some sort of affection. The closest he got to having dinner with Brennan was that morning he made her breakfast in bed and just about every other time he had seen her since then was when they both had their clothes off.

He half reclined on the couch and pulled her towards him so she lay in between his legs, her head on his chest.

"Whatcha doing? I've gotta finish. Need to finish." Brennan grumbled, half-waking and trying to move.

"Shhh. You're exhausted. Catch a couple of hours and then we'll finish before morning."

"Booth ..." she started but she could barely keep her eyes open. All those hours of overtime that she worked straight was starting to catch up with her and Booth was warm and comfy and ...

Booth watched her release her tenuous grasp on consciousness and he grabbed the blanket from the back of the sofa and gently laid it over them both. It was only when he was certain she was asleep that he allowed himself to gently move his fingers through her hair.

"Awww isn't that cute?"

Booth opened his eyes groggily and it took him a few moments to register where he was, who he was with and who was speaking to him.

Angela was standing there, sipping on a cup of coffee, staring down at him amusedly. Brennan was still fast asleep in the same position as before.

"What time is it?"

"8.30." Angela said.

"Bones is going to freak when she wakes."

"Better not wake her up then." Angela smirked. "So you two seem cosy..." She continued, obviously trying to dig for information.

Booth dodged the comment. "Severe neck and back ache." he groaned.

"But on the plus side you have Brennan on you." Angela pointed out. Booth looked down at his sleeping and smoothed the hair out of her eyes. That was true, he did have Brennan with him.

"You really like her don't you?" Angela said suddenly.

"It's Bones." Booth said simply.

They sat in silence for awhile: Booth was looking at Brennan whilst Angela was staring at them both. "Is this whole 'just sex' thing working out for you?"

Booth pulled a face. "Do you know who I don't feel comfortable talking about this with? The person with whom I'm having 'just sex's best friend i.e. you."

Angela laughed and as if on cue Brennan stirred. "What's going on?" She said, sitting up looking dishevelled and disorientated.

"Sex in the office - never thought you had it in you Brennan." Angela smirked.

Brennan shot her a look before turning to look at Booth accusingly. "You let me sleep."

"I know. I should be arrested." Booth said lightly.

Brennan glanced at the clock before picking up the tray with the skull on. "Angela, I need a reconstruction on this skull like yesterday." She said, running a hand through her messy hair while leading her friend to the studio.

Angela rolled her eyes at Booth. "You know sometimes I just wished she started with 'good morning'."

Booth laughed and waited for them both to leave the office before scooping up the case file with his jacket and heading to work.

**A/N:- I know this chapter is shorter than is my wont but it needed to be for the chapter divisions to work. And if you think that the fic's on some sort of plateau for a couple of chapters then fear not as it needs to be for the character development to happen. After all, not every day is going to be as action-packed for Booth and Brennan as the ones portrayed on the show! This is all leading up to something, you're just going to have to bear with me for a couple of chapters. **


	5. I've Found I'm Scared To Know I'm Always

**Chapter Five: I've Found I'm Scared To Know I'm Always On Your Mind**

_**Disclaimer: I have custody of my Muse and the plot but I humbly acknowledge that I have no jurisdiction over the characters themselves.**_

**A/N:- At nearly 4500 words, this is probably the longest chapter I've ever written. I know some of you would prefer shorter-but-more chapters but when the idea for the fic came to me it came divided up as it is. Since I tend to basically write what I visualise I know I can end up being overly wafflely so if you think I should keep my chapters shorter and more on the point, let me know and I shall post edited versions from now on!**

**'Collide' – Howie Day**

"This is nice."

"Yes." She said, sighing contentedly.

Booth rolled over so that he was spooning her, the bedsheet wrapped around them, his arm lying across her body his fingers entwined with hers. She felt warm - and not just because of Booth's close proximity. They lay in the middle of a huge bed, the French windows open letting in a stream of light and she thought that she could even hear the sea outside. She rolled over to face him.

"What are we doing?" She asked.

"We're lying in bed, enjoying some time alone away from Washington, away from work, away from everyone except each other ..." Booth said, kissing her softly, running his hand up and down her arm sending chills down her spine.

"No. I mean what are _we_ doing?"

Booth looked at her lazily. "I think you know."

"One minute we're two partners arguing and bickering and the next we're here ... in bed and I have no idea how we got here ..."

"I think you can work it out _rationally_ if you read up on the laws of attraction and inevitability." Booth replied, placing light kisses along her collarbone. "And.." he continued, looking deeply into her eyes. "I'm not just in it for the sex and no matter what you say, this means more to you than that as well."

Brennan woke up with a start. She raised her head from her desk and blinked a few times, looking around, half expecting to see Booth and the hotel room but all she saw was her office and case reports. She sat back and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. It had been a long time since she had fallen asleep at her desk and even longer since she had had such a vivid dream. She didn't need this - this thing between her and Booth had been confusing enough as it was. Her feelings were always so scattered - he could never be like any of her other flings - it was _Booth_. He knew her better than anyone, except perhaps Angela, and the way she felt so comfortable and safe around him was completely foreign to her. And yet she had told him that it was just a physical thing - and that's what she wanted ... but maybe that wasn't possible, maybe they would get emotionally involved, maybe things would start to spiral out of control and things would change for them.

A loud tap at the door shook her from her thoughts and Detective Johnson who had been working with her on the Jane Mannings case came in.

"We got him." He announced.

Brennan felt a flood of relief come over her but considering they had just caught a murderer, the detective wasn't looking particularly happy. "How?"

"Anonymous tip. Followed it up and found drawings and plans of the murder all over his house. A real sick bastard." Johnson said, scratching his beard before fixing his beady eyes on her. "Look, everyone knows about how you and Agent Booth make an 'awe-inspiring' crime-busting team." He said, his voice sardonic and accompanied with an eye-roll. "But just so you know, we would have caught the sicko without federal help."

Brennan frowned. "I didn't ask him to look into it if that's what you're implying."

"Really?" Johnson replied disbelievingly. "Because this 'anonymous tip' smelt awfully of FBI ... even if it is rather unlike our great Federal Bureau not to simply go behind our backs and take all the credit."

Booth. Her eyes darted around the room looking for the Mannings case file and it suddenly dawned on her why he had had his phone on divert all day. "If it is then I had no idea." She said truthfully.

The detective stared at her for awhile but she held his gaze unflinchingly. "Fine, well, just thought you wanted to know that the sicko's safely locked up now."

"Good. Thanks." She waited until he had gone before she grabbed her jacket. There was someone she had to see.

-----------------------------------------

"We caught them, we really caught them!"

"Yes, we really really did." Booth responded with considerably less enthusiasm than his companion.

"You know in Quantico they tell you over and over again how in this job you're ten times more likely to come to a dead-end in your investigation than catch the perp but in my first real case, we actually got the damn sonofabitches!"

"You're just lucky you came at the right time. There's months of background work that goes into solving these drug smuggling cases before the bust goes down." Booth said trying to curb the excitement of the young Agent.

They walked into his office to see Brennan sitting there in his chair behind the desk, arms crossed, her patented displeased look on her face.

"Hey Bones. Do we have a case?" He asked, throwing down the file on the now closed drugs smuggling case.

"I don't know, do _we_?" Booth raised his eyebrows. "Jane Mannings case? I only found out you were working it because Johnson told me of his 'anonymous tip'."

Booth sighed. He had a feeling she would work it out. "Agent Harvey meet Dr Temperance Brennan my renowned forensic anthropologist partner. Bones, this is James Harvey my rookie FBI Agent." Booth introduced.

Brennan glanced at the scrawny, messy-haired stick of a guy and wondered how he had managed to pass the Quantico physical. "Nice to meet you." She said with a polite smile before fixing Booth with her glare again. "It would have been nice if you had told me about your involvement or are we only 'partners' when it suits you?!"

Booth winced slightly. She really was angry. "Okay Agent Harvey I think we're done for today. See you bright and early tomorrow morning." He said, dismissing the rookie agent.

"Okay Agent Booth. Dr Brennan." James said nodding his head politely at them both before leaving.

"Johnson accused me of going behind his back."

"Since when does the great Temperance Brennan care what Detective Johnson thinks of her?" Booth asked with a small smile, walking behind his desk and rubbing her arm gently.

"I don't." Brennan said standing up and moving away, irritated. "It's just I don't like being left out of the loop, especially by you."

Booth sighed and flopped down in the seat now vacated by his partner. "You know I wasn't meant to be working the case at all and I wanted to keep it all under the radar which is why MPDC got all the credit..."

"So you thought you couldn't trust me?"

"Bones, you know it's not that." Booth said, scratching his head.

"What is it then? You don't have enough work of your own so you thought you'd dabble in my cases?!" She shot with a small sarcastic look at the piles of folders cluttering his desk.

Booth looked at her. The last time she had been this mad at him he had ended up kissing her for the first time. Now though, she would be well and truly prepared for that move. "Look I'm sorry." He said, standing up again.

Brennan relaxed slightly and took a deep breath. She hadn't expected Booth to apologise, especially when she had come at him guns blazing. She perched on the edge of his desk. "Why?" She asked simply.

Booth shrugged and walked up to her until he stood right in front of her. "I knew this case meant a lot to you and I knew that without access to the info on the FBI database, MPDC would be chasing around in circles for forever and I knew it would give you peace of mind to know that Jane Mannings got justice."

"So you caught a killer for me?"

Booth gave her a lopsided grin. "Well I'm not going to start an 'on demand' service but yeah."

Brennan blinked and was glad she had Booth's desk beneath her.

"You're not still mad at me are you?" He asked, squeezing her shoulder gently.

She wished she was. Being angry at him was so much easier than ... this. Momentarily forgetting where they were, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down towards her, pressing her lips onto his.

Booth felt the familiar exhilarating rush run through his body as they kissed. He had never felt as intensely about someone as he did about Brennan and it was frustrating having to hide something as powerful as what he knew they had. He knocked some files off as he moved Brennan further back onto the desk.

_"Sex in the office - never thought you had it in you Brennan."_ Angela's words played in her mind as she tugged Booth's suit jacket off his shoulders. She never thought she had it in her either but then again she would never have imagined she would be doing half of the things she had been doing with Booth. Ever.

All of a sudden she thought she could hear voices right outside the door but before she could react, the door opened. She pushed Booth off her with such force that he fell back and tripping over his chair, he fell to the floor, pulling her with him. "Shit." He swore and Brennan didn't know whether that was because they got interrupted or because they were lying in a heap on the floor.

"Do you reckon if we stay down here they'll pretend they didn't see us and go away?" She hissed, rearranging her clothes.

"If it's Cullen then ….."

"You do know we can hear you, right?" said a man's voice from up above.

Booth stood up and Brennan reluctantly followed him, immediately wishing she hadn't.

"Mom, Dad - what are you doing here?!" Booth asked, clearing his throat.

Brennan froze. She never thought she would ever think this but how she wished it had been Cullen who had walked in on them after all ...

Booth's father was exactly like an older version of Booth, tall and strong and although he was grey, old age had obviously been kind to him. He was looking at her with a faint smile on his face whilst his wife had a curious look on her face.

"Your Dad was in town to see some people so we thought we'd pay you a surprise visit." Mary Booth explained, her eyes darting from her son to Brennan and then back again.

"Well, consider us surprised……" Booth said with a nervous chuckle as he tucked in his shirt. He glanced at Brennan who had a deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression on her face. "Brennan, this is my parents Richard and Mary Booth, Mom and Dad this is my partner Dr Temperance Brennan." he introduced.

"Nice to meet you." Brennan said robotically, remembering her manners and extending her hand.

Richard shook it with a jovial smile. "My wife's a big fan."

"Yes I am! I just love your books! It's a real honour to be able to finally meet you." She said, grasping Brennan's hand. Brennan smiled politely but really she was formulating a plan to cut and run. Fast. "Seeley said you worked together but he never mentioned that you were dating as well."

"We're not." Brennan said so quickly that Booth didn't even have time to cut in. At the confused look on Mary's face she added. "We just have a ... thing." She said glancing at Booth. He was looking uncomfortably at his feet. _Well done Brennan you've just told Booth's Catholic parents that you're ravishing their son for pure sexual pleasure. Way to go._

"Oh, okay." Mary said unsurely before quickly turning her attention to her son. "We came by hoping that you were done for the day and that you and Dr Brennan could join us for dinner."

Booth nodded glad that his parents were choosing to skip over the half-naked-in-the-office-part. "Sure we could eat."

"Thanks for the offer Mr and Mrs Booth but there's something back at the lab that I really need to get done-" Brennan started.

"What kind of 'something'?" Booth questioned, his eyebrows raised. Granted he wouldn't have chosen that exact moment for his parents to see Brennan for the first time but now that they had, he was looking forward to them spending some time together.

"Something. Bones. Dead people."

"You didn't have a 'something' a few moments ago."

"I did. I just forgot."

"You never forget."

Richard coughed. "We'll give you guys a few minutes." He said, ushering his wife out of the office.

As soon as they were alone, Booth narrowed the gap between them. "What's the matter Bones? These are my parents - they've come all the way from another state!"

"Exactly they're your _parents_. I don't deal with parents. Hell, I don't even deal with my own parents."

"Mine are different. They're really nice and welcoming and you heard my Dad – my ma's already a fan ..."

"I don't know how to interact, I don't know what to say..."

"Look Temperance, it's not an interrogation - it's just dinner. Just be yourself and they'll love you."

"How can you be so calm?" Brennan questioned, irritated. "They just walked in on us in the middle of doing whatever that was."

Booth laughed at her nervousness. "After I had a son with a woman I'm not married to they gave up judging me on the Catholic way of life."

"Look Booth. I just can't do this." She said seriously. Her stomach was in knots. Before he could say something to argue again Brennan said something which hit him hard. "I mean come on we just work and sleep together - it's not like you're on the point of introducing your girlfriend to your parents."

Booth's face darkened and he looked away making her immediately wish she could take those words back. _Too harsh Brennan._

"You're right as usual." He said monotonously, heading towards the door. "I'm not going to force you to come." He opened the door and nodded to his parents. "Okay I'm ready. Dr Brennan's got something on at the lab though so she won't be joining us."

Booth's father simply nodded whilst Mary looked at her piercingly. "Oh okay but before we go, I hope Dr Brennan won't mind showing me where the restroom is on her way out?"

Brennan nodded. "Of course." She could just about manage that. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said to Booth who nodded defeatedly. "Nice meeting you Mr Booth." She said before leading Mary down the corridor.

"When we came to Washington to see Seeley, I was hoping we would get to meet you too." Mary said casually as they walked. "He talks about you a lot."

"We work a lot of interesting cases together." Brennan said, wondering what else she could say to that.

Mary slowed down as they approached the washrooms. "You mean a lot to him and what you're doing or not doing is none of my business but Richard and I would very much love you to have dinner with us simply as a friend. Anyone who's as important as you are to Seeley is as important to us."

Brennan stared at her blankly. "Oh I erm-"

"We don't bite and they'll be no pressure - just four people having dinner and maybe me trying to wheedle some plot details of your next book out of you." Mary smiled.

Brennan looked at her. Mary Booth seemed like the typical American mother that Brennan had only read about in books: warm, pleasant, baked cookies ... but she had to admire her cleverness in using the restroom ploy to corner her alone.

"Okay." She said weakly because it was the only thing she could think to say.

"Really? Good." Mary said happily. "Now don't go anywhere." She laughed as she headed into the restroom.

Brennan smiled nervously. What had she just gotten herself into?

Booth didn't even bother covering his surprise when he saw his mother reappear with Brennan. He had well and truly expected her to be halfway to the safety of her lab right now.

Brennan's refusal to have dinner with them earlier hadn't entirely shocked him but he had hoped they had reached a place whereby she trusted him when he said that his parents would not make her feel anything but comfortable. Now, seeing her come back, she wondered what his mother had said to change her mind.

"Dr Brennan's decided that dinner at The Churchill sounds more appetising than a cold sandwich over a pile of bones so she's decided to join us." Mary announced with a smile.

"Good, I'm glad." Richard said pleasantly.

They headed out, Mr and Mrs Booth leading the way whilst Brennan fell into step next to Booth.

"What did she say?" Booth asked as they walked out into the pleasant night air.

"What makes you think your Mom said anything?"

Booth looked at her. "I know you, you're as stubborn as anything. She must have promised to tell you all about my embarrassing childhood to get you to come."

Brennan shrugged non-committally. "I'm just hungry."

Booth laughed and slung his arm around her playfully. "Stubborn."

---------------------------------------

As she sat back in her seat and wiped her hands on her napkin, Brennan had to admit that dinner had passed surprisingly quickly and it wasn't half as bad as she had feared it would be. Booth was right: his parents were very unlike her own - they were friendly and welcoming and whilst his father didn't say much, his Mom wouldn't stop asking her questions about her books or the cases she had worked with Booth which even she found easy to converse about.

"I couldn't eat another thing." Booth said with a sigh.

"Me neither." His mother said, agreeing with him.

Brennan nodded too. The Churchill was a very posh hotel she had always driven past but had never gone in and after one look at the price list she realised why. However, she had to admit that the food was rather nice and the ambience was of the highest order. The restaurant or 'dining room' as it was called was decorated in rich golds and peaches with chandeliers and candles providing the light. In the adjoining room, live music was playing and couples were scattered on the dance floor.

"I think we should dance!" Mary said, glancing through into the next room. "Richard?" She said, holding her hand out to her husband.

Richard stood up reluctantly. "You know how I feel about dancing in a public place especially in front of my son and his beautiful friend." He grumbled as he slipped Booth and Brennan a sly wink.

His wife tutted, practically dragged him onto the dance floor.

"Shall we?" Booth said, offering his hand to Brennan.

She hesitated for a second before putting on a brave smile and taking it. After all he had done for her regarding the Mannings case, the least she could do was dance with him. They walked into the next room and as he rested his hands on her hips and pulled her close, she reluctantly wrapped her arms around his neck, glancing to side looking to see who was watching them.

Booth grinned at her obvious discomfort. "Look I actually think there's a person over there who's not looking." He said in a hushed whisper.

Brennan glared at him. "You know I don't _do_ intimacy." She said.

Booth sighed as he lightly rested his chin on her head. "Trust me I know."

As they swayed in time to the slow music she relaxed slightly and rested her head on his shoulder. She knew he sounded disappointed and even though she had warned him about all this beforehand she couldn't help but feel like she was letting him down somehow. "Your parents are nice." She said quietly.

"Yeah. They really like you."

"Well, you know what they say - I'm good with parents." Brennan said with an amused smile. Booth chuckled and they danced together in silence for a bit. "Sorry I bit your head off about the Jane Mannings case." Brennan said at last.

"It's okay. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if you didn't snap at me once in awhile." Booth said before dropping his hands slightly. "My place or yours tonight? Hell, we could even go back to my office if you want as I think that was really working out for us…….."

Brennan glanced over his shoulder. "Any other sex locations you want to discuss whilst your parents are in earshot?!" She hissed.

"Well, I've got a pretty comfortable backseat of my car ..."

"Shut it you!" Brennan laughed as the song ended and they broke apart.

"Seeley, it's your turn." Mary Booth said, heading over to them.

Booth rolled his eyes at Brennan. "Duty calls." He muttered.

Brennan stood by the side as mother and son started moving to quite a jolly little number when Richard approached her. "I know I'm not as handsome as my son but would you do me the honour?" And how could she refuse?

"Now I know it's none of my business but I think you're worth it."

Brennan finished her twirl and turned to face Booth's father questioningly.

"I know you're the reason my son didn't take the job offer."

"What job offer?" Brennan asked, confused.

"Nearly a year ago Seeley got offered an SAC position back in Philly. He'd talked things through with Rebecca regarding arrangements with Parker and he'd looked into housing and moving plans etc. but in the end he declined the promotion and stayed put in D.C." Richard explained with a soft smile. "Mary and I couldn't fathom why but now having met you, I know exactly why he stayed."

Brennan was thrown. Booth had never even mentioned the job offer to her and had given no indication that he had even been thinking of moving. Why wouldn't he tell her? "Booth loves his job. I'm sure he stayed here just to be close to Parker and to keep doing fieldwork."

Richard shook his head. "Maybe but trust me, I'm pretty certain you were the main reason." He said as the dance ended and Booth and Mary rejoined them.

Brennan was in a bit of a daze regarding this new bit of information that she hardly remembered saying goodbye to Booth's parents. She knew there was hugging and promises to meet up again soon but things only really began to come into focus as they walked back into the deserted FBI car park.

"It was a nice evening eh?" Booth said cheerfully as they got into his SUV.

"Yeah." Brennan said observing him as he rubbed his hands together to warm them up. Just as he was about to put the key in the ignition, she stopped him. "Why didn't you tell me you were thinking of moving to Philadelphia?"

Booth froze and sat back in his seat. He couldn't believe that after so long, she had finally found out about that. "It was a year ago and I decided not to go anyway so it doesn't matter."

"It does matter." Brennan said forcefully. "There must have been a period of several weeks where you were considering it and yet you never thought to mention it!"

"I was always in two minds about it from the beginning so I didn't want to bother you unnecessarily."

"Booth this wasn't about you changing your car or the colour of your tie - this was huge. You should have told me!"

"Like you told me how you've been trying to get in contact with your father again?"

Brennan looked at him in surprise. That was a good counter. "How did you know?"

Booth gave her a half smile. "FBI."

"Yeah, of course." Brennan sighed. "It doesn't matter anyway as he's not getting my messages." They sat there in silence for awhile just staring through the windscreen into the darkness.

"It was a better job, better pay, nearer your family – why didn't you take it?"

"It doesn't matter." Booth said, wondering what his father had said to bring this up.

Brennan wished she could just drop the matter but what Booth's father had said had unnerved her. What if Richard Booth was right? What did it mean? How was she meant to analyse the fact that Booth had felt this way for longer than she imagined…. "Booth?"

Booth took a deep breath. "It was because even then you meant too much to me for me to leave you."

"Oh."

Booth stared down at his hands. He knew she regretted asking now as his answer was far too sentimental and far-reaching for Brennan.

Brennan felt giddy like she had an entire football crowd chanting in her head 'Booth likes you! Booth likes you!' She knew Booth liked her, everything they had been doing for the past few months confirmed it and yet somehow hearing him say that changed everything.

"I'm glad you didn't leave." She said quietly. Then she leaned over and kissed him softly her head lingering close to his until he turned and captured her lips with his. When she didn't know what to say, this was the next best thing.


	6. I’m Open, You’re Closed

**Chapter Six: I'm Open, You're Closed **

**_Disclaimer: I have custody of my Muse and the plot but I humbly acknowledge that I have no jurisdiction over the characters themselves. _**

**A/N:- Thanks for all the feedback. Reviews are love! I've been trying to upload this chapter for awhile but wasn't co-operating. Grr.**

**'Collide' – Howie Day**

"You were gone when I woke up." Booth said, kissing the back of Brennan's neck as his arms snaked around her waist and his hands slipped under the hem of her blouse.

Brennan finished replacing the textbooks onto the bookshelf. Normally she would have shrunk from Booth's touch as the glass walls office didn't exactly offer them much privacy but she knew for a fact that Hodgins and Zach had left already and even she could admit that they had nothing left to hide from Angela. "I'm sorry – there was a pile-up of bodies at the lab that needed identifying." She explained with a half-lie, letting her mind momentarily lapse from thinking about her alphabetical filing system to just enjoying the feel of his hands on her skin.

"Hmmm so ... it's your special day at the end of this week. I know you don't like to make a big deal about it but I thought maybe we could do something little to celebrate?" Booth said, turning her around and kissing her softly.

"You mean my birthday?"

"No I was talking about the day the new water cooler is delivered." Booth responded with a chuckle but at the blank look on Brennan's face he clarified. "Yes your birthday."

Brennan pulled away. "Oh I actually had plans with Angela." She said and as Booth's face fell and his arms dropped to his side, she found she couldn't look at him. "Every year I spend the night at her place and then the next day she takes me out shopping and to the bar and we have a day of her dragging me around and me protesting that I just want to stay at home and watch a movie."

Booth nodded. She had plans and if it was an annual thing with her best friend then who was he to argue with that? "You'll get your present on Friday then." He said.

"Booth, you don't need to ..."

"I promise it's small." He said, holding his thumb and finger about 3 inches apart. "It's tiny. Miniscule in fact." He said, walking backwards for the door.

"Really? Because Brennan makes it sound like it's a whole lot bigger..."

Booth turned, the third person's voice startling him. "You're just so funny Miss Montenegro." He said sarcastically. Angela laughed and walked in the room as Booth left.

"So you two have plans for your birthday?" Angela asked as she and Brennan sat down on the sofa.

"Nope. I'm all yours for the usual."

"Sweetie you know I won't be offended if want to do something with that hunky FBI Agent instead this year."

"I don't." Brennan said instantly and then looked away.

Angela raised her eyebrows. "What's wrong? Things seem great between you. You have all this chemistry together and it's not affecting your work and ..."

Brennan sighed. "I know." Things were great, really great which was in her experience when things started going wrong.

Angela looked at her searchingly for a moment before she started shaking her head. "No no no. Not this time Brennan. Absolutely not. I will not allow it."

"What?"

"You're falling for him really really hard which scares you so you want to run but you can't because you have to see him every day so you're starting to freak and your mind is going to overdrive trying to think of a way out but you can't because you're starting to realise that you need him whether you want to or not and - "

"Look Ange, I don't want to talk about it. Booth and I are fine I just want to spend my birthday like how I usually spend it and he's fine with that." Brennan insisted. Denial was, after all, what got her through the day.

--------------------------------------------

Booth stood at the entrance of the forensic lab, the other side of the glass doors, watching the squints gathered round a computer screen up on the platform, laughing. Yes they were actually laughing, but considering he knew that computer loaded nothing except lab results he highly doubted the joke was something he would find understand, least of all find amusing. He watched Brennan smile and say something to Angela over her shoulder as Hodgins patted her on the shoulder.

She had a really beautiful smile which, if he wasn't just projecting his own happiness onto her, seemed to appear more and more ever since they'd been 'together'.

He walked through the automatic doors and as she spotted him, her smile grew ever so slightly which she tried to cover up by turning round whilst she left the others and walked down the platform towards him.

"Hi." She said, treating him to a coy look. She had felt his eyes on her before she had seen him and she wondered when she had started being able to just feel his presence……...

"I just wanted to give this to you." He said handing over her present to her. It was small, like he had promised, about the length of her finger and wrapped in aquamarine foil wrapping paper. "Don't open it until tomorrow."

"Thanks." She said with a smile.

"I know it's a day early but Happy Birthday Temperance."

Brennan held his gaze. His eyes were a dreamy chocolate colour which reflected well off of his jeans and favourite green jacket. She wished they were in her office or his office or the back of his SUV or anywhere where she could have fifteen minutes alone with him right now.

"Hey Booth!" Angela said, skipping down towards them and jolting them back into reality. "Hodgins, Zach and I are going out to a bar tomorrow night to celebrate Brennan's birthday - you should join us!"

"I thought it was just going to be you and me Ange." Brennan said warily.

"More the merrier Brennan. Everyone's your friend here." Angela laughed.

Brennan felt something inside her sink. If Booth felt hurt that she hadn't included him in this beforehand he did a good job of covering it though he did throw a glance in her direction.

"No thanks Ange... I have plans. You guys have fun though." He said, throwing a wave at Hodgins and Zach as he left.

Brennan treated Angela to a glare before jogging to catch up with Booth in the foyer. "Hey." She said, reaching for his arm.

"Hey." He said turning to face her, hands in his pockets, his face impassive.

"I didn't know Angela was inviting the others along too..."

"You don't need to explain anything to me Bones." He interrupted. "And you certainly don't need my permission to hang out with the squints."

"Come with us - I want you there."

Booth shook his head and gave her hand a quick squeeze. "You guys have fun and we'll do something on Sunday okay?"

------------------------------------

"Can I buy you a drink?"

"No thanks I'm good." Brennan replied without even turning her head to see who was addressing her.

"I bet you are." The man smirked.

Brennan looked at him with a frown, the innuendo lost on her.

They were at this bar by Angela's express recommendation but now they were here the guys were nowhere to be seen and Angela seemed to be fending off sexual invitations from all directions at the other side of the room. She pulled her jacket around her tighter and turned back to her drink, ignoring her fair-haired expensively-dressed suitor. Though she loved Angela dearly, a part of her wished she had agreed to spend half of the day with Booth as well. Booth. Booth her work colleague …. Her partner …. Her friend ….. her lover …. What was Booth to her now? She suddenly felt like she was walking dizzily into the deep-end blindfolded regarding them. There was no past experience or textbook reference she could go and consult and the worst thing was that if Booth could place his growing feelings for her back to when he refused the job offer, how come she couldn't even remember when she had started liking him in that way.

"Another beer and another cocktail for this lovely lady."

Brennan looked back at the man. "No thanks." She said steadily.

"Come on, it's just me buying you a drink. One drink." He said, leaning closer towards her with a grin.

"No thanks, I'm really not interested." Brennan said, moving away again with a frown.

"I'm sure I can change your mind ….."

"She said no." Angela said, coming up to them. "And if you don't move on, her six foot one FBI boyfriend will come and hunt you down and make sure you never walk again."

"Ange …"

Angela turned to her. "This guy's not interested in you sweetie, he's just working the room. I'm not being too harsh."

The guy gave them a displeased look before reluctantly sliding off his stool and disappearing in a crowd of people.

"No I know. I was just going to say Booth's not my 'boyfriend'." Brennan said levelly.

Angela looked at her like she was stupid for a second before shrugging and letting out a sigh. "It's your birthday sweetie, you can call him whatever you want."

"So, I know how you feel about bars so I thought maybe we could all head back to mine and hit the hard liqueur there?" Hodgins suggested.

"and you could open your presents." Angela added.

Brennan agreed and pulling on her coat, her hand coming to rest on a small package inside her pocket and she felt a flood of longing. Booth should be here.

As if he could read her thoughts Hodgins said "You should ask Booth whether he wants to join us. He's always talking about how he wants to see my car collection anyway."

Brennan nodded and avoided eye contact with Angela. "I'll go by his place and see what he's up to. Meet you guys there." She said, climbing into a cab.

By the time she arrived at Booth's apartment Brennan had firmly decided to push the nagging doubts about their relationship from her mind and just enjoy the rest of her birthday.

She knocked on his front door and thought she could hear voices the other side but before she could decode them the door was pulled open and she came face to face with a tall, leggy, scantily-clad girl with unnaturally blonde hair and an irritable look on her face as if she had just been interrupted from doing something important.

Brennan froze as images of Rebecca and Tessa flooded her brain jostling for attention.

"Can I help you?"

Brennan blinked and realised she had been staring. She dug her heels in, determined to see this through. "Is Booth in?"

"Who's asking?" The girl asked, running a hand through her long blonde hair, looking like she was bored.

"Dr Temperance Brennan." She said, clutching her bag tightly. Okay so there was no need for the whole 'Doctor' thing but anything to get one up on the competition ...

The girl straightened ever so slightly and became alert, looking Brennan up and down as if deciding whether she was any threat. "Seeley's mentioned you."

"Funny because he hasn't mentioned you." Brennan said, letting the bitterness slip out.

The blonde seemed to find this incredibly funny as she laughed and opened the door wider. "You better come in." She said.

Brennan stepped in and tensed slightly as she saw three other girls inside, dressed similarly to the blonde. They glanced at her disinterestedly before going back to talking amongst themselves. Her welcomer walked to the bathroom door and knocked on it. "Seel, someone's here to see you."

She then walked back over to Brennan. "He never mentioned you were so pretty." She said off-handedly.

"Erm, thanks." Brennan said, feeling like there was a distinct gap in the information she had at hand.

Then the bathroom door opened and Booth walked out wearing just his boxers and a towel wrapped around his shoulders, his hair still wet and spiky, having just come out of the shower. The disinterested girls suddenly became very interested and wolf-whistled and giggled as they stared at him but he ignored them, flashing his grin only at her.

"Hey. Happy birthday." He said, pulling her into a passionate kiss. As a general rule, Brennan hated any kind of personal displays of affection but whether it was relief or she just wanted to make those swooning girls just a little bit more jealous, she wrapped her arms around her neck and held him close to her.

"Argh Mom and Dad warned me you'd be like this - you two so need to get a room." The blonde said, rolling her eyes.

Booth grinned. "Temperance, meet my sister and her friends."

Realisation dawned. "Jessica, right?"

The blonde smiled, her frosty demeanour from earlier completely gone. "Yeah, my friends and I are in town to try out the new club opening tonight ... you guys could join us if you want?" She offered genuinely.

Booth laughed. "No, I think we're okay thanks Jess." He said before taking Brennan by the hand and leading her into his bedroom.

"This is a nice surprise. I thought you were out with Angela and the others." Booth said, pulling her towards him and kissing her softly.

"I was but then Hodgins suggested that we all go round his place and I dropped round hoping you'd join us."

"Hmm. How long did you tell him you'd be?" Booth asked, kissing her neck and sliding the straps of her top off her shoulders.

"Booth!" Brennan exclaimed with a laugh, pushing him away. "Your sister's outside and after the incident with your parents, do you really want her walking in on us as well!"

Booth grinned. "You shouldn't have worn a skirt then." He said, pulling out a fresh T-shirt and jeans from his closet.

Brennan hid a smile and sat down on the bed whilst Booth got dressed. Angela had gotten great enjoyment out of doing her hair and make-up and finding her clothes to wear tonight and for someone who spent 75 of her time arm to her knees in dirt, she was glad of the change.

"You look really beautiful tonight." Booth said, sitting down next to her on the bed, his hand resting on hers, his fingers lightly stroking her thigh.

"Thank you." She said looking at him and though the temptation was there, she resisted. "You ready to go?"

------------------------------------------------

Booth paid the cab driver and joined Brennan standing at the gates. "Now that is what I call a big house. Reckon he's compensating for his lack of height or something?" He said, his hand on her back as he guided her down the path which led to the front door.

Brennan glanced at him. "Zach and Hodgins don't know about us so ..."

"Got it. No innuendos, flirting or inappropriate touching!" Booth said, palms raised in defence.

"Right."

"How about sneaking off for some alone-time? I'm sure Hodgins has got plenty of spare rooms ….."

"Booth!"

They didn't even have time to ring the bell before the doors swung open. "Booth and Dr Brennan!" Zach cried happily, pulling Brennan into a sloppy hug before running back into the house, spreading the word about their arrival.

"How much has he had to drink?" Booth asked as they entered the house.

"A hell of a lot more than when I left him last." Brennan laughed.

They walked down the velvet carpeted corridor into a large room at the end.

"Welcome to the den!" Hodgins said raising a glass of champagne.

Brennan looked around. It was every bit as huge as she had expected but oddly enough it also had a rather warm, homey feel. There were sofas and armchairs scattered everywhere and all four walls were lined with shelves holding books, CDs, DVDs or weird and wonderful objects from around the world.

"Wow, impressive stuff." Booth said, looking around.

"I practically live in this room - everywhere else you're scared of leaving a mark on the furniture or dropping a crumb if you know what I mean." Hodgins explained. "Drinks cabinet is over there - help yourself."

"Glad you could come Booth!" Angela called from the beanbag she was reclining on.

"Any excuse to see what the mad scientists are like drunk." He chuckled, handing Brennan a drink before taking a seat on the floor next to her.

"Isn't it funny that with all the furniture Hodgins has in this house, we always end up sitting on the floor?" Zach spluttered before erupting into a fit of laughter.

"Hodgins spiked his drink." Angela said as a way of explanation.

"Oh just like I did to Bones'" Booth said off-handedly.

Brennan stopped mid-sip and glared at him over the rim of her glass.

"What? It's your birthday! If you can't have a little fun on your birthday, when can you?!"

"Here here!" Hodgins cried. "Do you know what else is fun? Presents!" He exclaimed. "This if from Zach and me. Happy birthday Brennan!" He said presenting Brennan with an engraved microscope for her desk.

"That's fantastic." Brennan said gratefully whilst Booth couldn't help but roll his eyes at how the squints managed to bring science into every occasion.

Brennan set Hodgins and Zach's present down and then started unwrapping Angela's one. She had already bought her a beautiful outfit yesterday when they had gone shopping but her friend had also drawn her a wonderful picture of the five of them as superheroes and framed it so it could hang in her office.

"Wow Ange, that's wonderful!" Brennan said, holding it up so the others could see. Booth smirked and wondered how much Hodgins had bribed Angela to make him Batman.

"Well you know, I am the world's greatest artist and all that ..." Angela grinned. "What did Booth get you?" She prodded.

Brennan glanced at Booth before reaching into her pocket and taking out the small package.

"It's a rare dinosaur bone!" Zach exclaimed, eyeing it excitedly.

"Oh please." Booth said, rolling his eyes.

"Hmmm. Going by the shape I'd say lipstick ..." Hodgins mused.

"Yes because my favourite past-time is going lipstick shopping for my partner." Booth said deadpan.

"I think it's-" Angela started.

"I don't even want to know what you think it is." Booth interrupted.

Brennan listened to the exchange with amusement before curiosity got the better of her and she unwrapped it revealing a small rectangular box. She looked over at Booth but he just gave her a small smile and downed the rest of his drink. She opened it and took the contents out.

"Oh wow." Angela gasped.

It was a silver dolphin pendant similar to the one left by her father at her mother's grave except this one was slightly smaller and attached to a chain to be worn as a necklace. Brennan stared at it. She knew that there was only one shop in the country that made them like this and she had seen Booth's trace report when he had tracked it down months ago and she had seen how much it had cost her father.

Hodgins whistled. "I never knew you had a thing for dolphins."

"My Mom." Brennan said absently. "Thank you." She said to Booth. And she was more than thankful. It was more than just a pretty necklace, it was special, it had meaning. She wanted to kiss him and tell him how much it meant to her but she couldn't so she tried to convey all that in a look.

"Here, let me put it on for you." Booth said, moving closer and hanging the chain around her neck, he fastened the clasp.

His fingers lightly stroking the back of her neck made her feel so tingly and she took some large gulps of alcohol to cover it up.

"There you go. Beautiful." Booth said, trailing his finger down her back discretely.

"Thanks." She said quietly, holding his gaze for just that split second too long that made Angela smirk at them knowingly.

Hodgins and Zach were as oblivious as always though, busily pouring a new round of drinks and soon they were all drinking some pretty strong stuff and laughing just a little too much and a little too loud.

Two hours later saw Hodgins and Zach pass out on the floor next to each other whilst Angela has wrapped herself in a blanket and sleeping contentedly next to the fireplace.

Safe in the knowledge that everyone else was fast asleep, Brennan had moved over to the sofa and they sat there talking quietly.

"You know when your sister opened the door and I didn't know who she was, I thought ……."

"You thought what?" Booth asked guardedly.

"I thought ……" Brennan paused and turned around so she could face him. "Look, this isn't a relationship. If you want to, you know, see other women then ….." Booth looked at her incredulously, completely gobsmacked.

Brennan looked away awkwardly. "I'm not saying you would, I'm just saying that you have the freedom there …. We're not 'tied' to each other or-"

"You don't see it do you?"

Brennan paused and looked at him blankly. "What?"

"I-" Booth started and then broke off very abruptly. "It doesn't matter."

Brennan pulled her legs up onto the sofa. "What?"

"No. Shh. It doesn't matter." He said, stopping her from saying 'what' again. Brennan could feel the tension between them and she knew that what she had said must have really offended him but then surprisingly he broke into a smile. "There's never going to be anyone else." He said, pulling her towards him so she lay in his arms. "You're already far too much for me to handle." He added, lifting her hand up to his face and kissing her fingers gently.

Booth sighed as they lay there together. He just wanted to be able to take away whatever was stopping her from seeing or feeling what they had together. Deep down he was sure she was just as aware of what was going on with them but it was like there was a great big barrier stopping her head from receiving the messages that her body and all her instincts were trying to send her. He also knew she was scared. Every time they were together having fun and she seemed happy, he also knew there was a part of her that was really afraid and part of her defence mechanism was to say things like she had just done as if she was trying to construct a reasonable argument to herself to go back to distancing herself from him.

Brennan closed her eyes and reached for his hand, linking their fingers together. She was sure that that this could be classed as bordering on cuddling but she had had a little too much to drink and the comfortable lethargic feeling she always felt when she was with him was coming over her in force. Her mind rewinded to that moment Jessica had opened the door. She had felt jealousy wash over her which had taken her by surprise. Since when had she started seeing Booth as 'hers'? She honestly didn't know but she was willing to admit that it had been long before they had even started sleeping together……… And thus appeared the eternal question, if it was just about sex, why did it feel like it was becoming so much more?

**A/N:- If you're looking for an incentive to keep on reading then all I can say is that the next few chapters are going to be ……. Well, we're going to find out what this fic has all been leading up to. Hopefully. Unless my Muse decides to take a detour.**


	7. Out Of The Doubt That Fills Your Mind

**Chapter Seven: Out Of The Doubt That Fills Your Mind**

_**Disclaimer: I have custody of my Muse and the plot but I humbly acknowledge that I have no jurisdiction over the characters themselves.**_

**A/N:- I was going to post a massive rant here but decided instead to post it on my profile page so as not to dampen the mood in here. It concerns the proportion of reviews to people who have added me to their alerts. You get my drift.**

**I really do love those who review consistently though. I appreciate the feedback. :-)**

**'Collide' – Howie Day**

Brennan stared at the newspaper in front of her but she wasn't really taking in what she was reading. Instead she was just sitting there staring at the words on the page wondering when was the last time she had actually seen the inside of her apartment and how long it would take for the others to notice she was wearing the same clothes over and over again.

"Anything interesting going on in the news?" Booth asked, leaning over her and taking a spoonful of cereal from her bowl.

"Crime's up, the economy's weakening and a bunch of football teams lost their games last night so not really." Brennan said, handing him his mug of steaming coffee.

"Well, I have something for you to look at which is slightly more interesting." He said, fishing out a piece of paper from a drawer and handing it to her.

It was a travel itinerary but not for a case. Two tickets to New York, next weekend, staying in the Four Seasons hotel, Broadway play and carriage ride through central park included. "What's this?" She asked weakly.

"It's a weekend away, just the two of us - not far so if there's a real emergency and they've found the world's oldest surviving chicken bone or something, I promise I'll release you and you can get back here quickly…."

"Booth, this is next weekend, it's not exactly a lot of time-"

Booth sat down and pulled the pile of toast towards him. "It's okay. I've checked with your boss and your boss' boss and your boss' boss' boss telling them that you were needed for an internal FBI matter and they granted you the time off so you definitely do not have to work."

Brennan stared at him. He was acting so casual about it as if he'd just asked her to pop out to the store and get some bread. Her mind whirled. Something that she had heard Angela say once about how only couples really serious about each other went on holiday together. There was nothing remotely casual about this.

"I can't."

Booth looked up at her. "You can't what?"

"I can't go this weekend." Brennan said steadily.

Booth held her gaze. She actually looked terrified. "We can make it another weekend if you want. I got flexible tickets so no extra cost to change the dates ..."

"No Booth. I mean I can't go away with you at all." Brennan said, standing up.

The smile faded from his face and he tensed like something he had always dreaded was coming true. "Why not?"

"It's not who I am Booth. You know that." She said, a hint of pleading in her voice trying to get him to understand. He looked away from her at stared at the kitchen table. "I need to get to the lab." She said, grabbing her jacket and her bag before leaving. She knew she was panicking but as far as she was concerned she had a good reason to be.

---------------------------------

"So I told him that if he wanted to do that kind of thing he was going to have to find someone else because there was no way I was ever going to be interested in --------- are you even listening to me Brennan?!"

"Sorry." Brennan said. She had hardly even noticed she had been clicking her pen on and off repeatedly until Angela had started to glare at her. "Booth asked me to go away with him."

A grin spread over her friend's face. "What did you say?"

"No of course."

"Brennan!"

"What?! We're not even dating. We've not even been out to dinner together and then he tells me we're going away to New York for the weekend staying at one of the most expensive hotels in the city ... what did he think I was going to say?"

"Maybe 'yes'?! I thought you would as well." Angela said quietly.

Brennan looked at her incredulously. "You knew Booth was planning this?"

Angela shrugged. "He asked me what I thought of the idea and I really thought that if it was for three days and only an hour's flight away you might actually get to relax and let him spoil you for once."

"Ange ..."

"No Brennan, I am your friend and I look out for you. Booth is quite possibly the best thing that's happened in your life - this tops coming top of your class in your graduate degree program and discovering that Holiswinkle bone in Ghana or wherever it was and you are -this- close to screwing this up. He's a guy who actually wants to take you to dinner, buy you flowers, treat you like every woman wants to be treated by their dream guy and you are throwing this away, why?" Brennan opened her mouth but Angela didn't let her speak. "You can't be afraid anymore Brennan. You need to start giving something back to him. He's a great guy and he's been more patient with you than I would have been but if you don't start to realise this you're going to regret it... You trust Booth with your life, you've got to learn to trust him with your heart as well."

As Angela left to answer a call, Brennan sank down in her chair and thought about what her friend had just said. She knew that when it came to giving out advice about relationships, Angela spoke the gospel truth and even Brennan could see the sense in what she was saying. Booth was an amazing guy who was willing to give her everything no questions asked even though she had given him next to nothing in return. She still felt that she was walking into whatever they had together blindfolded and the unknown was not something she dealt well with. Maybe though it was time to stop running.

---------------------------------------

"Hey." Brennan said quietly, standing in the doorway of his office.

"Hi." Booth replied, not even looking up from the case report he was writing.

"Haven't heard from you today."

"I've been busy." Booth responded monotonously.

Brennan nodded and tentatively walked into the room. She knew she deserved the cold-shoulder but not seeing Booth's grin when she walked into the room hurt surprisingly much. "I've been thinking about New York and -"

"I've cancelled it."

Brennan wrung her hands together nervously. She hated how he wouldn't even look at her. "Oh okay well maybe we could go grab some dinner …."

"I'm busy."

"Right. What about at the weekend?"

Booth dropped his pen and looked at her sharply. "I can't do this anymore Brennan."

There, he'd managed to say it and yes those words gave him great pain but it was comparative to the slow torture of having her with him physically but not emotionally. There was a long pause where he willed her to say something but when she didn't, he continued.

"We need to go back to just being partners who work together, friends. I l- like you too much for this 'just sex' thing to go on. It's too hard, too complicated."

Brennan swallowed. Words of protest were forming in her mind. She wanted to apologise, explain to him what she was feeling, tell him that they couldn't go back not when they could go forward... but she couldn't say anything, she wasn't prepared, she hadn't thought her speech through thoroughly. The fight or flight response kicked in. She walked backwards towards the door. "I've got to go. Dead bodies."

Booth watched the door close before he let his head fall forward onto the desk. He hadn't even felt this bad when Rebecca had refused to marry him and had told him they ought to lead separate lives. He fished out the travel itinerary from his pocket and ripped it up before chucking it in the bin. It was so tempting to just run out after her and tell her that he didn't care what it took, they would make it work but he knew it would do more harm than good right now. He massaged his head with his fingers before deciding that if he couldn't go home because it reminded him of her too much then he had to do something productive to distract himself so he headed down to the morgue to review the autopsies of some Jane Does that had been brought in.

At 11:30pm Booth decided to call it a day and headed out to the parking lot. Last time he was out here this late was when he was with Brennan and they'd ended up spending most of the night here. Tonight though he just wanted to get home and probably crash out on the sofa with a couple of beers. Loosening his tie and tossing his jacket in the back, Booth got in and shoved a Journey album into the CD Player before cranking the volume up.

_"'I kiss you and I feel you pull away, It hurts me when I see you hesitate, Mistakes I've made I wish I could take them back... Say it's not too late to hear you... '"_

Booth glanced in the rear-view mirror. He had been alone on the highway a minute ago but now two black Denalis were tailing him. He switched lane to let them pass but they didn't budge. "Come on!" He said with a frown. He switched gears and sped up and when they did the same he knew something was up. He glanced over his shoulder to get a better look but they'd switched their headlights off. "What the-"

He didn't have time to react. One minute he was following them in his mirror, the next they were heading towards him at 120mph. They rammed into him from behind and the side and the force meant he lost control of the wheel. He put his foot down on the pedal but the car was only responding with the noise of squealing tyres on tarmac as the SUV moved sideways instead of forwards. Booth just managed to glance out of the side window before he felt the car scrape along the side barrier. The flimsy metal put up a feeble fight before snapping. Booth felt the car start to roll and go over ………

And then he felt nothing.

**A/N:- Normally I would write something here but I really can't think of anything except that I can't believe my Muse decided to go along with this plot bunny! Stay tuned.**


	8. Even The Best Fall Down Sometimes

**Chapter Eight: Even The Best Fall Down Sometimes**

_**Disclaimer: The plot's mine and I've taken the characters hostage. **_

**A/N:- I knew exactly how this chapter was going to start and end - it was just the bits in between. I rewrote them a dozen times as I hate posting something I'm not satisfied with just for the sake of posting something. Finally my Muse and I finally came to an agreement. Thanks for all the feedback you guys have given me so far. I really appreciate it!**

Brennan didn't know how she got here yet here she was walking down the corridors of the FBI building on the way to Booth's office. She got there and after a short tap on the door she walked in. But Booth wasn't the man sitting behind the desk. In fact his office didn't look like his office at all.

"Can I help you?" The young, chubby fair-haired man asked.

"Where's Booth?"

"Who?"

"Special Agent Seeley Booth. This is his office."

The man looked blank. "I've never heard of that Agent before and as to this office, this has been mine for the past seven years."

"What?"

"I'm afraid madam but I'm going to have to get someone to escort you out."

Brennan woke up with a start. She was freezing and clinging to the sheets tightly. As the dream faded away, she glanced at the clock and realised she had woken up half an hour before her alarm. Sighing, she threw the covers back and headed to the shower. Today was going to be a new start for her. She and Booth were going to act professional and she was going to file away all those things she wanted to say to him until she had a chance to think them through rationally.

She first knew something was up when she walked through the glass doors and saw the rest of the team standing around on the platform but with no body on the table. Hodgins was pacing whilst Angela had her face covered with her hands. To the side stood three men in suits.

"What's going on?" She asked warily.

"Dr Temperance Brennan?" One of the men asked, turning round.

"Yes."

"Special Agent Thomas Lewis." he said, holding out his badge.

"Where's Booth?"

The Agent coughed slightly and glanced at the floor before fixing his gaze on her. "We think he's been involved in an incident."

Brennan felt her entire stomach start to churn. "What kind of incident?"

One of the other Agents handed Lewis a photo who showed it to her. "His SUV was found in a ditch last night." Brennan stared at it. There was blood covering the seat. "We're still waiting for the DNA results but we're pretty sure that it's his blood since he's MIA and the CCTV has him leaving the building in that car last night."

"That's a lot of blood." Brennan said weakly. She couldn't stop staring at the photo. Booth. She felt Angela come and stand by her and put her arm around her.

"If this is a car accident then why isn't he in a hospital?"

Lewis looked at her awkwardly. "This was no accident. Forensics say that the car was deliberately pushed off the road by at least two other cars. We think it was a kidnapping."

Brennan started to feel angry though she didn't know at whom. "Booth's FBI. He doesn't let himself get kidnapped!" She snapped.

"We collected at least five different sets of prints from the scene. The crash probably knocked him out and then it wouldn't have taken much for the men to haul him out."

Brennan tried to digest everything but she swore she wouldn't let her emotions get in the way. "I want to help you find him."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible Dr. Brennan."

Brennan fixed her glare on him. "I want to be part of this investigation." She said coolly.

"I know you and Booth work cases together but this is different. Firstly there's nothing – and hopefully there will be nothing - which requires your area of expertise and secondly when you're in a relationship with the victim all hope of retaining your objectivity is lost."

Brennan tensed. How did they know? She wished she didn't keep underestimating the FBI. She saw Hodgins and Zach shift slightly and look at her questioningly. "We're not in a relationship. Spending the night at his place doesn't make it a relationship." She said looking at Lewis defiantly.

The Agent had the decency to at least avert his gaze for a minute. "As far as we're concerned, that's the same thing. I'm afraid there's nothing you can do for Agent Booth at the moment. We'll keep you informed."

Brennan stormed off the platform and headed straight for her office. She felt herself about to fly off the handle and the one person who would be able to calm her down and comfort her was lying bleeding somewhere.

"Sweetie, you've got to let the FBI do their job. Booth will be fine." Angela said, following her in and closing the door behind them.

"You don't know that Ange. Look at the blood! For all we know -" She felt her voice start to crack. "For all we know they could have killed him and dragged his body off somewhere." She finished quietly. She sank down into the sofa, head in her hands. She felt so lost and helpless. She had managed to put on a brave face in front of everyone else but as soon as she had heard that FBI Agent say those words she felt like a skewered pig.

"You don't really believe that." Angela said soothingly, sitting down next to her and rubbing her back. "This is Booth we're talking about."

Brennan shook her head, her mind rushing through a hundred things at once. "You were right. This New York thing meant such a lot to him and because I panicked and couldn't even give him a reason, he told me that this whole arrangement between us wasn't working out. I should have fought for us. If I'd stayed in his office and told him how I really felt then-"

"You can't blame yourself Brennan." Angela said firmly.

"I can't think straight. I keep trying to focus myself, think about what I would be doing right now if Booth and I were just work partners, nothing more but then I can't, I can't. That photo of his SUV and the blood-" She felt the tears run down her face as she looked at her friend helplessly.

"Sweetie, you have to think positively. And maybe Agent Lewis is right, maybe there is nothing you can do to help find Booth except sit and wait."

Brennan rubbed her eyes, starting to feel angry at herself. She knew that being all emotional wouldn't help anyone and the state she was in now – this wasn't her. She had to focus, be optimistic, be rational. "He's the one."

"What?" Angela said ever so softly.

Brennan wiped a tissue across her eyes and then screwed it up into a ball tightly. "Booth – I …. I mean I've never actually believed … so who actually knows …… but when I'm with him ……. I think I ….. which is why I haven't been letting myself think too hard about what was going on between us because I knew that coming to this conclusion would really freak me out." She said with a sad smile. She was an idiot. Booth was lying hurt somewhere and she chooses this very moment to have her epiphany.

Angela hugged her tightly. "We're going to find Booth and you're going to tell him that, okay?"

Suddenly there was a tap at the door. "Sorry to interrupt Dr Brennan." Hodgins said awkwardly. "But there's someone out there to see you."

Brennan stood up and quickly tidied herself up. She had barely finished going down the stairs when a blur ran towards her and began hugging her legs tightly.

"Tempe. Tempe."

Brennan reached down and smoothed Parker's hair down ignoring the looks of surprise that Hodgins, Angela and Zach were giving her at the sign of affection from the little boy.

"I'm sorry Dr Brennan I didn't know what to do. I know you're busy but Mr Booth said that if anything should … happen to him that I should bring Parker to you and that he would be safe with you ….."

Brennan nodded slightly. Booth had told her that Rebecca was in Europe and that Parker would be staying with him, being looked after by a nanny during the day. "Parker'll be fine with me."

The short Filipino lady looked slightly relieved but then her face saddened. "I'm sure Mr Booth won't be gone for long. If you need anything-"

"We'll be okay. Thanks Rose." Brennan said watching as the nanny left hurriedly. She was pretty sure that having to protect an FBI Agent's son from a possible psycho criminal who might be out to get Parker too wasn't in the Rose's job description. She reached down and picked Parker up.

"Tempe, you've been crying."

"Only a bit." Brennan said, trying to keep her voice light.

"Is it because Daddy's gone?" She didn't even need to say anything, Parker knew. "You're going to find him though?"

Brennan looked at him. As young and innocent as he was, his voice still contained a hint of worry as he looked at him with his large brown eyes. Booth's eyes.

"Yes of course." She said levelly. Parker clung to her, arms wrapped around her neck. She rested her head on his and closed her eyes. If she needed something to get her head back into gear and concentrate fully on finding Booth instead of just freaking out then having Parker rely on her was definitely it.

"Dr Brennan?"

"Yes?"

"I'm James Harvey-"

"Booth's rookie Agent." Brennan said, remembering meeting the scrawny rookie once before.

"Yes. I've been assigned to shadow you."

"To shadow me?"

"Yeah it means-"

"I know what it means." Brennan snapped before taking a deep breath and biting her lip. "Sorry, it's just I can look after myself. Shouldn't you be out helping the investigation or something?"

James Harvey looked at her patiently. "They've got everyone in the department out looking for Agent Booth but it's my job to keep you both safe in the meantime."

Normally she would have argued this further but now she had Parker to think of as well so she held her tongue and just made do with trying to stare the Agent down.

"I think we should go back to your apartment Brennan." Angela suggested gently rubbing Parker's back. Brennan swallowed and let Angela lead her down to the parking lot and to her car.

Brennan drove whilst Angela sat in the back with Parker. Glancing in the rear view mirror she could see Agent Harvey tailing them a constant reminder of the danger Booth was in. Something deep down inside of herself was still hoping that they would pull up to her apartment block to find Booth sitting in front of her door grinning and shouting 'surprise!' but she knew that was not something which was likely to happen.

Her mind ran through all the cases Booth had talked to her about, trying to remember if any of them had raised a red flag but she couldn't recall anything. He was working on a case yesterday when she went to see him ... but then again he could have just been writing week-old reports as a way of avoiding looking at her.

When they arrived at her place, she argued with Agent Harvey for a full five minutes about the fact he wanted to stand in front of her front door for the whole day and night to make sure she was safe and although he looked thin and weak he said he wasn't going to back down on that so she had reluctantly given up and left him alone.

She entered her apartment and went straight to her answering machine but there were no new messages. Her eyes stung slightly and she felt herself start to unravel. She sank down onto the sofa half-watching as Angela went around her apartment looking for some paper and pens to give Parker something to do.

There was nothing she wanted more in the world than to do something so that Booth could be back with her alive and well and yet at the same time she had never been in such a helpless position.

"Brennan." Angela called from the kitchen, a sense of panic in her voice.

"What?" Brennan said immediately.

Angela just pointed to the fridge where there was a piece of paper held down by a magnet.

It was a scrap of paper with a picture of a dolphin hastily sketched onto it followed by an address and a time. "It's from my father." Brennan said quietly.

"Do you reckon he knows something about Booth?" Angela frowned.

"Well I hope he didn't risk breaking into my apartment just to make dinner plans." Brennan glanced at her watch. "We've got half an hour to get there." She said, quickly grabbing her coat and keys again. The note from her father had given her a small amount of hope that he might know something useful but more importantly it had given her something to focus on other than the 'what-if's that were currently running through her head.

"Tempe, we going out again?" Parker asked, a worried look on his face.

"Yes just for a bit." Brennan said, helping him put his jacket on and then holding his hand whilst Angela held his other hand.

"Dr Brennan?"

Brennan cursed inwardly. No matter how much Max Keenan deserved it, she didn't think he would appreciate her leading a FBI Agent with an open warrant for his arrest right to his doorstep. "Look Agent Harvey I know it's your job to follow me everywhere but this is one place I really need to go by myself."

"You know I can't allow you to do that." The Agent said firmly with all the confidence he seemed to have lacked when she had first met him that day in Booth's office.

"I promise we'll only be gone for half an hour and your boss will never know ..."

"It's not about my boss, it's about the promise I made to Agent Booth."

"Oh he would understand that this is an extenuating circumstance and that I can more than take care of myself." Brennan tried to move down the corridor, aware that she was running out of time. If she was late then who was to say her father would wait. Harvey blocked her way. "Don't make me hurt you." Brennan threatened.

"And trust me, she will." Angela added.

Harvey didn't say anything for awhile but then he glanced over his shoulder to check that no one was listening before lowering his voice. "You're going to meet your father aren't you?"

Brennan blinked. For once she couldn't think of a quick-witted response to that.

"I've read the official casefile and Booth let me read his unofficial one. He said that if ever he wasn't with you but I was and that you were going to meet Max Keenan I was to accompany you to make sure you were safe but not to get involved and turn a blind eye in regard to all other things."

"Booth trusts you with a lot for a rookie agent." Angela commented suspiciously.

"Yes." James said monotonously before turning to Brennan again. "So are you going to let me follow you or are we going to have to have that physical fight."

Conscious that she would be wasting valuable time by doing so, she gave him an annoyed look before heading down to the car and didn't even say anything when Agent Harvey got in next to her instead of taking his own car. Brennan typed the address her father had given her into her satnav system and twenty minutes later she was parked outside what looked like a run-down derelict house.

"All right, I'm going in and taking Parker with me." Brennan said, switching off the engine and turning round to look at Angela.

"Sweetie, are you sure that's wise?"

Brennan ran a hand through her hair. "I need Parker to be with me for every minute up until the time I can safely return him to Booth and besides I need you to stay here." She said giving Angela a meaningful look.

Angela nodded confirming that she understood that her friend wanted her to watch Agent Harvey to make sure he didn't suddenly decide to go back on his word and call for back up and go in and arrest Brennan's father.

"Wish me luck." Brennan muttered before lifting the sleeping Parker carefully out of the car and glancing down the street to check she wasn't being watched, she walked across the road and knocked on the front door of the house. Parker stirred slightly at the noise and nuzzled his head into Brennan's neck.

The door opened revealing her father who looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.

"Temperance." He greeted with a surprised glance down at Parker.

Brennan entered and he shut the door quickly behind her.

The house had obviously been empty for years but it looked like her father had set up a temporary home in the corner of the living room with an old sofa covered with a cloth which doubled as a bed and a computer and microwave placed on a small desk which looked like it was going to collapse any minute now. Brennan placed the sleeping Parker on the sofa, hoping that the whirl of the generator and them talking wouldn't wake him.

"Do you know who's got Booth?" She said, turning to her father urgently, formalities could wait.

Max shrugged. "I've got a few ideas but of course it's going to take awhile to narrow it down …."

Brennan opened her mouth to ask for details when suddenly something hit her. "You don't have taps on every criminal mastermind in D.C, what makes you think you have a better chance of finding out who did this than the FBI?" Her father shifted slightly and looked uncomfortable and thanks to Booth she knew enough to interpret his body language. "Booth is missing because of you?"

Her father raised his hands in quick defence. "It's not certain but given the circumstances and the timing …… I just have a hunch."

Brennan didn't know what to say. She dropped down into a chair and swallowed the urge to shout accusatorily at her father. She glanced at the pile of paper on the table. "Are those the suspects?"

"Yeah the narrowed down list." Brennan flicked through them there had to be at least fifty different wrap sheets here. As if reading her thoughts, her father added "Big gang, lots of enemies – both outside the gang and all those inside that your mother and I turned on."

Brennan took a deep breath before starting to read, trying to see if anything jumped out at her which could relate back to a recent case they had worked on which could have stirred up the past. The words were filtering through her – Booth was usually the one good at doing this stuff. Her stomach flipped as she thought of Booth and the memories of him being with her, leaning just a little bit too close as they made their way through case reports hit her at thunderous speed and made her feel nauseous. She lowered the papers. "But if these perps wanted to get to you somehow why didn't they just take me?"

"Lots of reasons, especially if this guy's involved." Her father said, pulling a piece of paper out from the pile and handing it to her.

"Alex Jacobs." Brennan read aloud looking at the grainy photo. "It doesn't ring a bell."

"That's because you might have known him by a different name." Her father replied pointing halfway down the sheet.

Brennan looked at the list of aliases. "Oh God." She said.

**A/N:- Remember, it's not a cliffhanger, it's a dramatic pause. And reviews are just that tad bit nicer than cookies. )  
**


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